Season 6 The Crystal Chronicles
by Eternos137
Summary: Steven Quartz Universe successfully got through to the Diamond Authority and now Earth and the Gem Homeworld are at peace. However, that was just the beginning. New allies, new threats, new experiences, and adventures await Steven as his life goes on. But with his friends and positive outlook on like, he can brave through them. (Post "Change Your Mind" Fanfic. Partial AU.)
1. Chapter 1

HELLO EVERYONE! And welcome to a NEW Steven Universe Fanfiction! This wonderful little piece was made by yours truly and co-written by the wonderful Milo. F. Waters. I sincerely hope you enjoy this story. OH! And If you have any questions or comments pertaining to this story, please feel free to tell the two of us via Review! Well, here we go!

**Chapter 1: Getting to Know You**

_Once upon a time, long after the Gem rebellion ended, Rose Quartz was walking down the beach when she heard a strange noise. It was a type of music she had never known and stepped closer. She found a concert with no one in the audience and a long-haired human calling himself Mr. Universe on stage, playing his heart out for an empty crowd._

_As Rose stared, amused by this curious man, his song ended and the two formally met. Rose immediately came to like this human, named Greg, and met him several more times. While Rose had come to befriend several humans in the past, Greg was the first who captured her heart. He abandoned his dreams to stay with her and she came to see him as the most wonderful man on planet Earth._

_After several months of meetings and lovings, Rose learned of something called motherhood. This, in short, was how humans were made and was captivated about how she could make a human of her very own. _

_However, there was a problem with this process... Rose quickly learned that if she had this human, called a child, it would mean giving up her physical form. After weeks of deciding, she eventually could not resist and together she and Greg had a child named Steven. Before the actual birth however she made preparations to make sure the child would be well-cared for... _

_She left three gems, the last of the Crystal Gems, to look after this child as well as any remaining threats on Earth. These Gems were Garnet, Amethyst, and her own personal friend and companion, Pearl. _

"And that child… is me," said Steven to the assembly of dozens of gems sitting on the beach in front of the temple. He lifted his shirt to show the pink gem that was his navel. A wave of gasps emerged from the crowd, instantly recognizing their leader's stone.

"So... Rose is gone?" asked a brown Gem in confusion.  
"Well," Steven said, "Yeah, and no. My mom left me a message saying that she would still live on as a part of me."

"So Rose will come back?!" asked a green Gem. Her excitement spread through the crowd like wildfire.

"No, we're sure she's gone for good," said Steven with some remorse. The crowd was silenced in a millisecond.

"They're taking it better than I expected," commented Pearl. She was standing behind him along with what could be considered the main bulk of the Crystal Gems: Garnet, Amethyst, Bismuth, Lapis, Peridot along with Greg and Connie who wanted to see more of their extended family.

"Remember that not all of them were as attached to Rose as you," reminded Garnet, making the slender Gem turn blue in the cheeks.

"Man, there's so many of them!" wondered Connie, "How did you find them all?"

"The same way she found us, giving us something different to live for," Bismuth answered.

"Really? The way I see it, my life has become profoundly more chaotic since I've arrived on this planet!" snarked Peridot, adjusting her comically large glasses.

"So you wouldn't mind giving me all your _Camp Pining Hearts _DVDs?" asked Lapis.

The green techie literally hissed at this. "Lay one touch stub on them and I will never forgive you!"

"Heh heh, nerds…" chuckled Amethyst to herself. Back at the crowd, Steven was now taking any questions from the Gems in front of him. Most of them were one variant or another of "How are you like Rose?" It took him several minutes of explaining that he was part-Rose and part human. With their curiosity sated for the moment, the group dispersed and went about their separate ways.

"So, does that clear everything up for you, Jasper?" asked Pearl in the most polite tone she could manage. The hulking orange Gem stood at the very back of the crowd, not moving an inch with her arms crossed; she looked as upset as ever.

"Um, Jasper? Are you alright?"

"NO, I'M NOT!" shouted the monumental gem, "I'm stuck on this planet with nowhere to go and nothing to do! And on top of that, you're telling me the Gem responsible used to be _Pink Diamond_!?"

"Jasper, we told you that weeks ago," groaned Lapis, "Get over it already."

"Watch your mouth around me, you little…" she moved forward but was immediately met with Bismuth and Garnet pushing her back.

"Don't try to start anything," ordered Garnet, "I'm in charge here and you _will not_ start a fight while I'm around."

"Unless you want us to call the Diamonds and tell them you hit one of Pink's closest friends?" taunted Bismuth.

Jasper just rolled her eyes and stomped off, more than likely to the nearest rock so she could take her anger out on it.

"Guys, she's still trying to adjust to all of this," Amethyst said to the others, "Cut her some slack!"

"She's been growling at everyone and starting fights from day one," sneered Lapis, "I say we just let her go if she hates it here so much…"

"Uh guys," spoke up Greg, "I'm kinda with Lapis here. I mean, if she really doesn't want to stay, then maybe we can just let her go. I mean, it's got to be better than her staying in the house. With Steven!"

"Greg, I understand your worries," assured Pearl, "But I believe that keeping Jasper close is important since she needs constant supervision. As much as it may not look like it, she went through a terrible revelation and the healing could take quite some time."

"Plus, I may have a loose grasp on Earth currency, but I know that letting a Gem who possesses superhuman strength and severe anger issues loose on an unsuspecting populace is a terrible idea. Even your substantial wealth would be depleted in a week, at best," added Peridot.

Greg suddenly went wide eyes at the possibility of paying all of that potential property damage.

He quickly realized he was dealing with the lesser of two evils. It was hard for him to believe that in only a month ago he only had about six Gems to contend with. Now he had no hope of even counting them all.

Meanwhile, light years away at the Gem Homeworld, White Diamond was currently in her personal chambers.

Despite her promise to Steven to spend more time outside her personal domain, she found herself with a hard truth to face.

Running an intergalactic empire was so hard!

She swore to do more of her fair share, to not let Blue and Yellow handle everything, but there was so much to keep track of! Shifting planetary conditions, the ever-dwindling resources, managing so many new technological creations, or maybe the fact that their planet was literally cracking at the seams. Even she all but hit herself over how she could miss _that_ little detail!

She was desperately trying to take more of the workload off the other Diamonds, but after millennia of being the man behind the man, she would often retreat there whenever she felt overwhelmed. She held her arms out in the same pose she had held for so long, contemplating all the changes that were being made and wondering if it was too late to go back to the way things were.

It was then that her new Pearl, a white-colored one with her grey-hair done in a large bun on the back of her head, warped in with a message.

"My Diamond," she stated with a monotonous voice ruined by a worried tone, "We have news from one of our drone scouts near a planet deemed acceptable for colonization."

"Let me guess," White Diamond droned, "Another rebellion?"

"Actually, y-yes, that's exactly it!"

White could already feel her eye start twitching. "What?"

"We've received several messages from our ships and bases that they are being hijacked by unknown forces. There have been no survivors of any encounter with these forces."

"Have you received any useful intelligence about these invaders?"

The worried expression on the Pearl was more prominent upon being asked this question, "Well actually yes, they seemed to inscribe this odd sigil over the ruins of the sites in question. When I cross-referenced this to the information in the history archives there was a match, but… I couldn't access and further information. It was restricted you see…" The Pearl then showed an image of the sigil in question via projection from her gem, "This is the sigil…"

White was in shock at what she just saw. It was similar to the insignia used by the Diamond Authority itself but was made of six diamonds instead of four. Also, each of the Diamonds was arranged differently. There were five diamonds, yellow, blue, black, red, and pink arranged into a pentagon shape. In the middle was a larger white diamond. The pentagon itself was drawn in a thick, magenta and purple outline. However, White knew something was off as this old sigil was supposed to have a more elegant _rainbow_ colored outline. Unless...

White Diamond immediately contacted Yellow and Blue Diamond. She ordered them both to drop whatever they were doing and set their ships on a course for Earth. When asked why she only told them that they needed to see Pink Diamond as soon as possible.

The next day in Beach City was as bright and sunny as its populace came to expect from the sleepy town. Steven was enjoying his cereal on the porch, basking in the morning sun and the calming waves. As he ate his breakfast, he was happily watching the construction crews at work on the beach.

With the corrupted Gems finally cured after so long, they quickly realized that there were simply too many of them to stay in the temple. Thankfully, Mayor Dewey was so grateful that the last alien invasion caused such minimal damage, he okayed the gems building some housing along the rocks and road at the beach that lead back to the temple. As Steven saw, there were a little over a dozen homes being built, each as unique as the last.

"Hey Steven!" greeted the Nephrite formerly known as the centipeedle.

"Centi!" Steven said cheerfully as a good friend of his, "What's up?"

"Well," she replied, "I never got the chance to formally thank you for everything you've done for me, especially considering I wasn't exactly myself at the time."

"Hey, it's hard to thank someone when you can't form words, it's okay."

"Yeah…" she pulled out a bag of her favorite chips from her gem, "I'm just sad that we could have been enemies back in the day."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I was still fighting for Homeworld when that light came, remember? If I met you back then, I would have had to fight you…"

Steven stood and took her hand. "Don't think like that, Centi. We're friends now and plus now the Diamonds are our friends too! That means we have nothing to worry about!"

The nephrite smiled as the two started down the beach, an impromptu road being formed between the shells of small houses being made for the throng of new Crystal Gems. "It's nice to see that things are getting better…" she told Steven.

"Yeah," The boy stated, "It took some ups and downs, but things finally worked out in the end."  
As the took in the construction around them, the best word to summarize the experience would be chaos. The newer Crystal Gems had missed millennia of progress, so the adjustment from a time of hunter-gatherers to the modern day would be an immense change for them. Just yesterday they had a group of gems confusing a bulldozer with a mechanical weapon that they had to destroy. Pearl took it upon herself to educate her old comrades about all the facets of modern living from cellular technology to indoor plumbing to the proper way to get rid of dust bunnies.

"Well, mostly," Steven added in hindsight. Amethyst, Peridot and Lapis, not being a part of the original Crystal Gems, treated the entire endeavor as one giant meet-and-greet with them all getting to know as many of the new faces as possible. Even with so many to meet, all three of them took it in stride and found themselves enjoying either hearing stories about the old days or telling anecdotes about their time with Steven.

Bismuth, on the other hand, was too busy with work to pay much attention to all her old friends. As the member of the group with the most building expertise, Bismuth aided the human construction workers brought on by Greg to assist with all the work they would have to do. The only one she took time out of her schedule for was Biggs, the brown-colored jasper who seemed glued to the larger purple gem's side. While Bismuth was loud and boisterous, Biggs was more than content to just listen and only occasionally talk back. It suited her friend just fine as she had dozens of projects on her mind all at once.

Greg was also contributing in any way he could, namely keeping the human workers on track and bankrolling the whole thing. He was more grateful now that Marty, sleazebag as he was, sold more of his old songs as commercial jingles over the years so he had a steady income for the project thanks to royalties. He also made an effort to introduce himself to many of the newer gems, though it was a slow process. He seemed especially fond of the two pebbles formerly known as the heaven and earth beetles, if nothing else for the fact that they were the least threatening since they could fit in the palms of his hands. "Heheh," he said, holding them in his hands at that very moment, "I guess you guys are kinda cute..."

That left Garnet to herself for the most part with her main job: babysitting Jasper. Everywhere the orange bruiser stormed off, Garnet kept an eye on her to ensure she would not cause too much collateral damage.

At the moment Jasper was sitting by herself, grumbling. The other Gems in the area instinctively avoided her, too intimidated by her aggressive presence to do more than stare. Who could blame them, with her tendency to sneer and growl at any of the Gems present? She also did NOT appreciate being called a "Crystal Gem" in any description as the one unfortunate sap to make that mistake was almost clobbered. It took Garnet, Bismuth AND Lapis to get her under control after that.

Garnet looked at her, both with worry, and with concern. Even after a month to cool off, she was still an angry wreck who showed no signs of changing her ways. Granted, she was the only one of the new arrivals who learned the truth about Rose's actual identity. The permafusion expected the Gem to take it hard, but it seemed to only worsen the resentment she harbored for them all. If Steven so much as got close to her, she looked ready to commit bloody murder.

And that was NOT a chance his three mother figures, as it were, were willing to take.

Upon noticing that Garnet was observing her, she yelled, "WHAT!? _Whaddaya want!?_"

Any nearby Gems either took a step back or rushed away upon that outburst.

Back at the temple house balcony, Steven and Nephrite saw this. Nephrite then said, "That… is the most aggressive Quartz I've ever seen."

"Yeeaahhh," Steven said, "She's going to need some work…"


	2. Chapter 2

Hello! Before we proceed with the chapter I'd like to answer a review.

Timeline15: Thanks! We've been talking about each of the Gem's personalities in order to perfectly match what they are supposed to be like. Here's hoping we can keep it up, eh?

Anyway's this is the second chapter in the Steven Universe Sequel Fanfic. I hope you all like it! As always, leave a review with your thoughts...

**Chapter 2: Getting to Like You**

Later that night, every human in Beach City was preparing to turn in for the night. The Gems who now lived there had to be informed beforehand about how humans need to sleep. Some of them were confused while others thought it made some sense. Many could now see how Rose found the planet so fascinating with a population that had so many unique quirks.

While many of the gems were simply content to entertain themselves and/or make smaller progress on the construction that would not disturb the residents of the temple, the main Crystal Gems returned to their respective rooms. As Steven was gearing up for bed, he looked outside and spotted his beloved pet Lion.

This lion was quite peculiar. Despite being relatively domesticated, he still comes and goes as he pleases. At the very least, Steven never got any complaints about his massive pink pet causing any trouble around the neighborhood. What struck him as odd was that Lion once died, but was revived by Rose Quartz using her powers. He started to wonder if that made Lion a gem himself?

Given that his gigantic mane was now a portal to a pocket dimension used by Rose, and now Steven, as a sort of storage space, it made him wonder just how that whole reviving process worked, especially since he accidentally performed it himself on his friend Lars.

Lion, however, simple stared in his general direction. "Lion," Steven said, "You know I don't like it when people stare at me while I sleep." The feline did not avert his gaze.

"Come on, buddy, what is it? Are you hungry?"

Lion simply blinked, as communicative as always.

"You just want to sleep on my face again, don't you?"

Lion blinked again, then simply turned, walking away. Steven then let out a sigh.

"At least he's easy to train!" he giggled to himself as he tucked himself in. Something told him tomorrow would be an interesting day.

Bismuth was hard at work burning the midnight oil in her new room in the temple. The place could be loosely described as a forge/home garage with half-finished weapon designs and blueprints strewn all over the room. Unlike the other rooms, the place was a silver cube that seemed to be just an ordinary, if bland, workshop. What many people did not know, however, was that it functioned as a less-powerful version of Rose's room. The blacksmith even had a lava vent coming in from Garnet's room installed simply by willing it. Bismuth was currently building new parts and materials for the Gems to continue building their homes with. However, there was another side project that she was working on as well.

After seeing Connie's sword, the blade that once belonged to Rose destroyed in the fight against the diamonds, she made it a mission of hers to make a new sword for the girl to use, one that would be sturdier than the last one. On top of that, this one would actually be made for a teenage human and not an alien warrior twice her height.

As she began working on the blade, though, she also began to think of Steven and how impressive his skill with Rose's shield was…

"Bismuth? Are you in there?" said Pearl from the temple door.

"Come in!" she shouted as she was brought back to reality.

"Wow," Pearl said, looking at the new room, "You've really settled in, haven't you?"

"Well, what can I say?" Bismuth said, "You can't keep a good Bismuth down!"

The slender gem chuckled at her intentionally bad pun. "Well, at least now we don't have to travel between that old forge and here."

"Yeah, I wish we had the temple like this back in the old days...But hey, we pounded it out either way! Now what brings you to my shop?"

"I… mostly wanted to apologize."

"What about? That modification for your spear break or something?"

"Oh no! I never have a problem with your work! But… I do have a problem with how I was keeping secrets from you." Pearl looked at the floor in shame.

"You mean about Rose and-"

"Pink Diamond, yes. I felt compelled to tell you all so many times, but I couldn't break my last order from my Diamond…"

"Pearl, I don't blame you for anything. And I know nobody else would be angry towards you either."

"Sapphire sure didn't feel that way…"

"Oh yeah," Bismuth said nervously, "Steven told me about that part… she reacted way worse than I did." The blacksmith remembered how it took her screaming into a lava pool to relieve the shock after Steven dropped the larger-than-life revelation on her, "But hey, like Steven said, it all worked out in the end! We're all back together, the Earth is safe, the Diamonds are friends… and I still can't get used to that."

Pearl chuckled at this. "It is pretty surreal. Who'd have thought that after so much fighting we'd not only win, but we'd finally make peace with Homeworld?"

"Not me, that's for sure! Take it from me, Pearl, you're not the only Gem whose made _really_ stupid moves."

"Yeah, I suppose so," Pearl then looked at one of the areas of the forge and saw some drawings. "Hey, Bismuth?" she asked, "What's this?" She took one of the drawings and saw an image of herself, Garnet, Amethyst, Bismuth, and Steven, standing triumphantly on a podium. All drawn with crayon.  
"Oh that?" Bismuth asked, "Steven drew that for me a while ago."

The pale gem could only laugh at the boy's antics. "I can't believe how much he's grown either. Last year I was worried about him getting scrapes on his bike. Now he's gone into space repeatedly and brokered peace with White Diamond. It's all happening so fast…"

"And look on the bright side, now he can live without worrying about any Gems going after him."

"You're right. Thanks, Bismuth. I missed having someone else to talk to."

The next morning Steven woke up, refreshed. After showering, brushing his teeth, and enjoying a hearty breakfast he was looking forward to a day with Connie while the Gem housing project was being done.

As he walked out the door, he turned around and spotted a note taped to it.

"What's this?" he said to himself as he picked up the note and tried to read it. It started out in the language that Gems use, but was crossed out and replaced with English. _Go to the woods on the outskirts of Beach City. Brings friends if you must… Signed, "A new Friend."_

Steven, having been through his fair share of trouble, immediately showed the note to Pearl, Amethyst and Garnet.

"Welp, here we go again," remarked Amethyst.

"Going on what again?" asked Pearl.

"More crazy adventures, duh! I knew sooner or later we'd get more weirdness around here."

"She's got a point…" added Garnet.

"So, I suppose we have no choice then but to head out," groaned Pearl, "This person already knows where you are so if we refuse, they can just show up here and do who knows what!"

"Should we bring anyone else?" asked Steven.

"Nah, dude, we've got this!" Amethyst said with confidence.

"I'm not sure," Pearl said, "We don't know who or what we'll be dealing with here. For all we know, this could be a ruse to draw Steven out."

"We can have Lapis watching us from above in case anything goes wrong," suggested Garnet, "Otherwise, the three of us together should be enough to handle most threats."

"Plus, I'm not some defenseless kid anymore! I can handle myself…"

As he was backing up his boasts, literally, Steven ended up walking himself right in front of the porch stairs and took a tumble down.

"Steven! Are you okay?"

"I'll be fine...Can I please have an ice-pack?"

"Yeah, he should be fine! There's no stairs in the woods!" joked Amethyst as Pearl pulled out the ice-pack from her gem.

About an hour later, the four main Crystal Gems were in the woods on the trail to meet with their mysterious "new friend." They took Garnet's suggestion and brought Lapis along for some airborne recon, trying to find this unknown person as well. As the grouped neared their destination, she flew down to the others.

"I found someone nearby. He was wearing this big cloak and hood, so I couldn't tell who it was," she reported.

"Thanks Lapis!"

"No prob, Bob."

"It's Steven!"

The two chuckled at their inside joke before she took off again. This time the Gems followed the direction she flew in. With their blue guide, they found their way to a small clearing where the cloaked figure stood.

"Excuse me, are you the one who left that note?" asked Steven.

The unknown figure seemed to smile warmly, then took a step forward. Unfortunately the figure then tripped over. Easily.

"Well...So much for a dramatic entrance," mumbled the cloaked figure with a noticeable British accent on his voice.

"Can we help you?" asked Pearl.

"Yes, you can!" he exclaimed as he righted himself, "I'm on the lookout for Pink Diamond, or well her gem anyway, and this is the last planet it was seen on. And now that I've been here, I can see why! This place is full of so many bizarre sights, like these strange white apparitions in the sky!"

"Uuuhhh… you mean the clouds?" guessed Amethyst.

"Clouds? That's what they're called! They even have charming names, it seems! And what about these little organisms?" He pulled out a shriveled brown mushroom from the inside of his cloak.

"That's a mushroom," answered Garnet.

"Ah," the figure said, "This planet is full of wonders! I can see why Pink Diamond faked her own destruction for all of this. Although I would have been more active with what's happened in the gem war, there there were the conflicts throughout history and-" He paused his fast ramblings when saw the Gems and Steven's faces of confusion.

"How...do you know about that?" asked Pearl, looking halfway between relieved and ready to explode.

"Well, My Diamond told me about it, of course! Can't go looking for a Gem that no longer exists, after all!" The figure took off his cloak and revealed something alarming.

He was a Gem. He was around the same height as Pearl and was around the same build as well. While their faces were identical down to the same pointed nose, his outfit was the complete opposite. He was dressed in what appeared to be all-black evening wear with white stripes running every which way all over him as if he had been assaulted by a gang of angry paint rollers. His hair, also stark black, was very high on his head with a few strands hanging over his forehead. A solid black gem could be seen on the base of his neck. It looked like…

"Wait…" Steven said, "Are you… a Pearl?"

"That's right! I am Black Pearl, the current best, albeit only, servant to the magnanimous Black Diamond! He's very interested in finding the whereabouts of Pink Diamond's heir so he sent me to look for her, I mean, him. It was rather easy to find you from orbit, given the massive eight-armed stone temple, which I must say has some exquisite architecture! Truly, whatever Bismuth designed that deserves several promotions! Anywho, I hope I have contacted the right person? Otherwise, could you tell me about any other massive stone temples on this planet? And maybe more about those mushrooms!? I-"

"Wait! Wait-Wait-Wait-Wait!" Pearl yelled, now looking like she would definitely explode, "Did you say, _Black_ Diamond?!"

"Oh, right" the Black Pearl said as his expression changed, "You wouldn't know about that… Well I'm supposed to find Pink's 'Next of Kin' as it were. Do you know of a… What was the name… Oh yes! A 'Steven Universe'!"

The four of them, plus an extremely confused Lapis Lazuli, looked at this strange Pearl and wondered just what the heck was going on.

Steven was the first to speak, "You… you're looking for me?"

"That depends. Are you Steven Universe, or are there more of you?"

"Uh, no that's me." He lifted up his shirt to reveal his gemstone. Black Pearl gasped at the sight and ogling it on his hands and knees.

"Oh my word, it's true! Pink Diamond really did disguise herself as that Rose Quartz by altering her Gem's orientation on her form! How incredibly fascinating!"

"Um, thanks?" Steven blushed, not sure what to do with that kind of phrase.

"Anyway," the Black Pearl said with enthusiasm, "You all must the rest of the Crystal Gems who raised him since birth! If you would just follow me!" He then happily walked off in a direction, managing to not trip over his own feet this time.

Steven was about to follow him, but was stopped by Lapis.

"Whoa, guys, what's going on? What's this about some new Diamond?" she asked, even more confused than the rest of them, "Did that happen while I was in that mirror?"

"No," Pearl said, "There _are_ no other Diamonds, just his mother, Blue, Yellow, and White."

"Than what the heck is this guy talking about? He's obviously a Gem!"

"Who knows, but we won't get answers unless we go along with him," replied Garnet, "Go back to the temple and tell the others we'll be away for a little bit. We'll make sure nothing bad happens to Steven while he's gone."

Lapis nodded and flew away towards home. The four then nodded to each other and followed the Black Pearl down a path until they came across a solid-black spaceship just barely smaller than the body part-shaped ships often used by the Diamonds.. The Black Pearl approached the ship and said, "My Diamond, I have found Steven Universe! … And by lesser extent some of the Crystal Gems."

The others could not hear the other side of the call, but it was clear that this must have been the supposed Black Diamond.

"Psst, hey Pearl, what do we do if this is just some crazy Gem who wants to fly us into the sun?" whispered Amethyst.

"Then I will commandeer his ship, fling him into space, and let Peridot reverse-engineer this. She's been bugging me for something to tinker with…"

"Well then!" cheered Black Pearl after hanging up, "Right this way, don't want to keep My Diamond waiting, after all!" A door opened up into the ship. The three cautiously stepped inside.

The interior of the ship seemed to be similar to Pink Diamond's own leg-ship, only the area was in various shades of gray and black. The only noticeable color in the area was an insignia on the wall that looked like an edited version of the Diamond Authority's sigil. They eventually got to a large door. The Black Pearl then placed his hand into it and he looked on ahead. He then turned to the others, "Right this way. My Diamond is looking forward to seeing you!" He then headed inside with the Crystal Gems in tow.

Inside was a large hexagonal room with a black in the floor and ceiling along with panels that gradually transitioned to a light gray towards the middle of the walls. The whole area was lit with a neutral light. In the middle was a large black palanquin, the typical mobile throne used by the Diamonds, decorated only with light gray curtains. Sitting inside was an unknown figure, fully obscured... save for a black gemstone located at the base of its neck. And judging from its shape it was clear that it was a Diamond.

"So...You are Pink Diamond's 'heir'?" asked the throned figure in an impossibly deep voice.

"Y-Yeah, that's me…" stammered Steven.

The being then stepped off his throne and out of the black palanquin. They saw his neutral gray skin with a face that resembled a shockingly youthful man. "You're a bit shorter than I thought you'd be," This shocked Steven as not only was his voice now less deep, even normal by human standards, but he spoke with a different tone altogether, one more casual.

As he stood upright, however, his status as a Diamond was made more clear by the fact that he was as gigantic as White Diamond was, making the other Crystal Gems feel like insects by comparison. Unlike her, however, his appearance was rather downplayed with an entirely black suit save for a few splashes of color. A white handkerchief that stood out like mad was kept in his coat pocket. The bright red flower that was kept along with it made it stand out even further. He wore two colored cufflinks on both his wrists, yellow for the left and blue for the right. On one of his fingers was a bright pink signet ring. He also had the same uncanny eyes as the other Diamonds, only his irises were a deep gray to go with the black, diamond shaped pupils.

"My apologies for that introduction, My Pearl has a tendency to fiddle with systems he shouldn't be around."

"But your voice sounds so _coool_ like that!" exclaimed Black Pearl from the other room.

"I swear something went wrong when I made him, but then again, he's quite talented and capable despite being an Off-Color," Black said to the group. He then looked at Steven again, "Steven Universe, you don't know what an honor it is to meet you face to face."

"Thanks!" Steven replied, happy to see that this meeting with a Diamond was going much better than his introduction to White, "So...Who are you?"

"Well, as stated before, I am Black Diamond and I'm quite used to people not recognizing me. I've been… absent from Homeworld for the longest time."

"What happened? Those sticks-in-the-mud get you down?" sneered Amethyst.

"In a crude manner, you could say that. I had other ideas on how to manage Gem-kind's existence, but I failed to convince the others. So after an… incident, I left," Black Diamond paused before continuing with two other words, "Self-Exile… I guess they weren't keen on new ideas since… Well that doesn't matter anymore."

Steven was confused by that last bit in his conversation, but Pearl spoke up, "And you expect us to believe all of this? I've never heard of a Black Diamond before."

"Ah," Black said, "The unowned Pearl, assigned to Pink after she got too attached to her _own_ Pearl in White's Eyes."  
"H-h-how…?" squirmed Pearl as she blushed harder than she had in years.

"I've been keeping tabs on Homeworld, of course, since my exile began. While I further explored the cosmos for new resources to benefit Gems, I also kept my watch on White and how she has, pardon my bluntness, royally screwed up over the ages."

"You're not wrong…" mumbled Garnet.

"So, okay, you know everything, but why did you want to see me?" asked Steven.

"I've been looking for you since I require your assistance. I'm frankly amazed you could actually get White to change her ways and see reason with Pink's… departure. There is a grave threat on the horizon and I was looking for you to persuade White to lend me her aid in my cause. As much as it pains me to resume working with someone like her, the situation is too dire for me to resolve it alone. Besides… you changed her a bit, so maybe she could be.."

"My Diamond! We have a situation!" called Black Pearl from outside.

"Pearl, for the last time, the sky is _supposed _to be blue," groaned the Diamond, "The atmosphere of this world has a high concentration of water vapor and-"

"No, not that, I've gotten used to that! Our sensors just detected all three of the Diamonds heading towards the planet in their personal vessels! What should we do?"

"What?" Steven said.  
"Really?" Black said, "Hm… They must have found out about _her_ at this point…"

"Ooh, a mystery Gem! Tell us more!" exclaimed Amethyst.

"All in good time. But for now, Pearl, take our ship and land in the approximate area of White's projected landing zone. It's time for a long-overdue reunion."

"Wait, what!?" Black Pearl was shocked, "With White?! Right now?! Oh, but I have so many things to prepare! I need to have the meeting spot decorated, perhaps with some of those lovely mushrooms I spotted before, and the itinerary must be made to account for the level of debate, and of course, there will be their Pearls to account for, so I…"

"Wow, he's as nuts as you are…" chuckled Amethyst as Pearl's expense, "Looks like he's your perfect match!"

"I BEG YOUR PARDON?" shouted Pearl, looking about ready to die from embarrassment as her black colored counterpart kept rambling. However, as soon as he saw an intimidating gaze from his Diamond, the personal servant stopped speaking immediately, instead, meekly saying, "Y-Yes my Diamond…"


	3. Chapter 3

Hello everyone! Here it is, chapter 3! Sorry for the pause, but here it is!

But first, answers to reviews!

bestpony666: No, not really. There is NO idea for new Shipping in the works.

Timeline15: Well here's hoping that Milo and I do it better. ;-)

Now that those are out of the way, here is the chapter!

**Chapter 3: Diamond Family Reunion**

The three members of the Diamond Authority had arrived on Earth near the Temple. They were patiently awaiting Steven's return, having been informed by Lapis beforehand that Steven was out and about somewhere. The three then looked to the new Gem-homes that were being built.

"So these are what lodgings on this planet are like?" asked Yellow as she inspected the foundation of a halfway-complete house, "They seem rather… shoddy."

"I find them rather charming," commented Blue, having been in an infinitely better mood in recent days, "Plus, it seems they are making the best possible use of their resources just as we would."

White, on the other hand, was staring past the temple impatiently. It was not like the grand matriarch of the Gem race was used to being left behind.

"Well, at the very least, we're involved with Pink's life now," shrugged Yellow, "So that has to count to something."

"Steven. Remember that she, I mean, _he_ goes by Steven now," reprimanded Blue.

"'He?' Pink decided to change that, too?"

"If that's was Steven wants, than let it be. I'd rather lose my family all over again."

White winced at that last bit. Yellow looked like she had punched in the face.

"O-Oh! I'm sorry, I didn't mean-"

"No, you're absolutely right, Blue. We must be more tolerable of these circumstances unless we want a repeat of this whole mess," stated White, much to the shock of Blue.

"What is it?"

"It's just...I can't remember the last time you agreed with something I said."

White's eyes widened at this. She was not _that_ harsh with the two of them, was she?

Suddenly the two heard the sound of an engine and saw a ship in the distance. It was quite familiar to them. Yellow and Blue were both shocked, and if White felt a sensation similar to what a human would describe as having your stomach drop.

It was Black Diamond's ship. It landed next to the temple at the shoreline. The ship then opened up to reveal Steven accompanied by none other than the lost Diamond himself.

"Uh, hey guys…" greeted Steven awkwardly, "Look who came to see me. Neat, right?"

The landing got the attention of all the Crystal Gems who stared at the unknown Gem in awe. The Crystal Gems all moved out of the way as Black Diamond approached, taking caution not to accidentally crush anyone underfoot.

"Black Diamond…" White said, contempt in her voice "It's been a while hasn't it?"

"Yes. It has," Black replied, "I see that you are at least attempting some change for once… You're out of your ship."

Blue and Yellow were still in shock at seeing the defective Diamond before him.

The Crystal Gems, meanwhile, were all slack jawed seeing not only the main Diamond Authority suddenly show up on their doorstep, but a completely new Diamond with them. Peridot summed it up best, "Okay, I need to ask. JUST _WHAT_ THE HECK IS GOING ON!?"

Lapis simply walked inside, muttering how she would take a nap and only wake up once this whole mess was over.

"Um, Pearl, why is there a-" started Bismuth before Pearl gave her a look clearly saying she did not have the answers either.

"I wondered which part of the galaxy you ran off to after your exile," White said.

"That's surprising," Black replied, partial sarcasm in his voice, "Considering you never cared for us defectives back in those days… I assume your sensors picked it up too? The hijacked ships?"

This got White surprised, but she regained her composure, mostly, and said, "Yes… and I assume you also know who this all points too?"  
"Correct."

"You don't mean…" mumbled Yellow Diamond.

"It can't be…" panicked Blue Diamond.

"Yes, and as much as it pains me to admit it, we will need to reconvene if we want to eliminate this threat to our empire."

"Excuse me, _our _empire?" snarked White, "The last time I checked, you have not provided anything to our cause in countless millennia. What gives you the right to claim any stake in our success?"

"Oh yes, clearly, you've been doing a terrific job since I departed. Is that why Pink Diamond essentially went rogue?"

"Please don't mention that…" mumbled Blue, trying to hold in her tears hearing that.

"That was a single incident!" yelled White.

"Guys!" Steven Piped up. The Diamonds looked to him, "I get that there's something between you guys, but what are you trying to say!? _Who_ does it point to?"

Black then turned to the Crystal Gems nearby, "Well... some who can do worse than this… White… I still can't believe the three of you retaliated so cruelly…"

"Well, pardon us if we were unaware about what Pink was doing! We were caught off-guard since there had never been a case of a Gem leading any sort of organized rebellion before!"

"Wait a second, how do you know all of this?" asked Yellow.

"I've been intercepting Homeworld's communications, of course."

"WHAT?!" shrieked White, "You've been spying on us?! How dare you-"

"How dare I what?! Be informed of how you three essentially abused Pink, left her to run a colony unsupervised? And then when she refused to obey your commands, you scolded her to the point of _genuine _punishment. Then, when she was supposedly shattered, you tried to take out not only the Gem seemingly responsible for the deed, but also thousands of Gems, some of them _your own troops_, as punishment!? Perhaps YOU should have gone into exile instead!"

It was a long and cold silence that followed Black's dressing down. Blue was now freely crying and thus almost every Gem on the premises was as well. Even Jasper, though forced into it thanks to Blue's powers, felt a twinge of guilt hearing about just how horribly her boss was treated.

"Sooooooo..." muttered Steven as he tried to regain control of his emotions, "What were we talking about again?"

"... Someone capable of even worse than what he did," White Diamond said somberly.  
"Red Diamond…" Black added with contempt.

Steven picked up on the tension the Diamonds felt upon that name.

"What?! That's impossible!" exclaimed Yellow.

"But we...she shouldn't be able to…" fretted Blue.

"Wait a minute! There's another new Diamond?!" exclaimed Steven, regaining the attention of the massive Gem monarchs.

"New, isn't quite correct," explained White, "Red Diamond was, for lack of a better word, insane. Like Black Diamond here, she was looking to 'improve' Gem-kind with unique enhancements provided by other planets. She had a habit of kidnapping organic life-forms from uncolonized worlds and using them to-"

"Augment them, to put it politely," continued Black, ignoring the glare White was giving him, "Like me, she was willing to look to outside sources for inspiration. Her methods, however, were… horrifying."

"If Pink brought any organic life around, Red would kidnap them for her experiments! And then gloat to Pink that she did it! Then she would lock herself in her room and cry until either Yellow or I promised to get them back!" remembered Blue, "It was so traumatizing for her."

"We tried over and over again to discipline, but nothing ever stuck," added Yellow, "Eventually, we all agreed that she was too unstable to be left to her own devices and deemed her Off-Color. So, we eventually poofed her and launched her gem into space. Our plan was for it to eventually be destroyed by a celestial object, be it a star or a meteorite."

"And yet, it seems she somehow escaped and reformed," contemplated White, "With the obvious intent on giving comeuppance for her exile and resuming her unscrupulous ambitions. She's already claimed hundreds of Gems from several colonies under construction for test subjects and resources."

"Exactly," confirmed Black, "She poses an enormous threat to our empire. We must halt all further efforts until Red Diamond is apprehended and, if necessary, shattered."

"Simply put," Black Pearl whispered, "She's a madman…"

Steven noted the looks of concern, worry, and even fear in the Diamond's faces.

"All evidence suggests she's heading here. To Earth…" White Diamond said. All of the Crystal Gems all paled hearing this. As a sense of panic began to permeate the crowd, save for Jasper who was still kicking and struggling in Black Diamond's hand.

"Okay then, so you obviously want our help," commented Garnet, hoping to put some of the group at ease.

Yellow agreed. "Yes, as much as we would rather not admit it, we will need every advantage against Red Diamond. Now that you have a respectable number to your forces, we figure it was appropriate to warn you of this threat and lend assistance."

"Wait, why can't we just talk to Red and convince her to stop?" asked Steven.

"I tried. Once," Black Diamond said, "She laughed at the very notion of halting her projects, deluding herself into believing that they were for the good of all Gemkind…"

"Yes, as much as it pains me to admit it," remorsed Blue, "There's simply no reasoning with her."

"But you guys thought White was impossible to talk to, and now your all better!" argued Steven, only to get a grimace from Yellow.

"While she has no doubt improved her behavior in recent times, she still has… reservations about certain aspects," she said.

"I still have duties to perform in regards to Homeworld's operation, you know, and while I am capable of many things I cannot just abandon my position!" White argued.

"Really? You seemed content with leaving it to these two for eons…" drawled Black. He rebutted before she could even make a retort, "And while I may not be involved in those proceedings, I don't deny my flaws either! You've been painting yourself as pure perfection for the longest time and frankly, it was unbearable to listen to! Come to think of it, it was actually a blessing in disguise in hindsight."

"Guys!" Steven got their attention again, "Just how long will it take for Red Diamond to come to Earth?"

"... A while," Blue answered, "But she'll find other ways to do as she pleases until she actually arrives. We should _all_ stay alert."

Miles and miles away from the current meeting of the Diamond Authority, there was an intimidating vessel lazily floating through the cosmos. The enormous red vessel once resembled an ordinary hand and forearm, but has since been modified so many times it was hardly recognizable. Bits and bobs were fused and tacked onto every square foot of the exterior with the only consistency being the color.

The interior looked sickening, a mismatched mixture of different dark shades of red. Many areas looked like the color of blood and all of them were haphazardly thrown together with no rhyme or reason.

Aboard the ship were hundreds of Gems, but ones unlike any previously seen. In fact, if it were not for their signature stone located on their bodies, many would assume they were a random assortment of aliens from all walks of life. Some were humanoid and could pass for unique varieties of Gems, but they were the rarity among the hoard. Some resembled beasts, others plants, and other creatures just barely resembled anything familiar at all. They walked on any number of appendages, some of them were incapable of speech, and a small selection of them were feral almost to the point of mindlessness.

The only clean and remotely sanitary part of the ship was a central laboratory where holographic diagrams of lifeforms of various description illuminated the walls. Shattered gem shards, containers full of entrails in varying states of decay and horrific machines were cluttered around the floor and worktables. In the midst of all this chaos was one enormous figure happily working among the mess. She stood fifty feet tall with a massive crimson overcoat covered in stains and splotches from her work, but she never seemed to notice them. Her gem was located atop her forehead with a sinister red glow...

"My Diamond," a voice rang out to the figure. The voice came from what looked like a Pearl. This Pearl, however, looked emotionally blank. She wore a simple one-piece dress with a belt as if she were dressed for something formal. However, her outfit also included accessories befitting a nurse such as a lab coat and an elegant variation of workboots.

"Yes, Pearl? I'm working, so this had better be an emergency."

"We have had a small disruption in the holding cells. One of your unrulier subjects escaped and began picking fights with the others."

"Hmpn, I suppose the subject has lived it's course… terminate it…"

The Pearl simple nodded, expressionless before summoning her weapon from her Gem, a sword with a dark, wavy blade. She then ran out of site.

"A pity," the Diamond said, "All these experiments are getting stale… however…" She then looked at a monitor showing the planet Earth, "This new planet, it's full of possibilities. I wonder what new results my projects will yield… upon the surface of this new world…"


	4. Chapter 4

Hello, everyone, I hope you ready for a new chapter! Here we are!

Since there are no reviews from the last chapter I thought that I can tell you that we finally get some action now!

Anyway, Sorry for the hiatus, let's continue!

**Chapter 4: Prepare Yourselves**

The next day, with news of the potential rogue Diamond attack, the people of Beach City were doing one of two things. The more savvy of the citizens were sticking to business as usual, shopping, hanging out, etc. The others, however, were preparing. Those who were not sticking to the status quo were preparing for an evacuation at anytime. The Crystal Gems were training for a potential attack, any semblance of a threat courtesy of Red Diamond's forces.

The Diamonds, however, returned to Homeworld so as to not leave their home and other colonies unsupervised. In order to ensure that they would stay up to speed with the events on Earth, though, all four of them left their designated Pearls to watch over the preparations and provide aid wherever necessary. The Diamonds also left some parting gifts such as spare weaponry to better prepare the forces of Earth plus they agreed that Black would stay behind so he could provide a rescue should the Crystal Gems need one.

With so much talk about how formidable this rogue matriarch would be, all of the rebels were put on high alert. Garnet and Pearl more or less became the leaders of the outfit, trying to place everyone in the best position. The most capable fighters were instructed and trained on how to use the modern Homeworld weaponry, though they knew that they might have to resort to a crash course given the limited time.

Steven, naturally, was nervous given the entire situation. A Diamond that was thoroughly insane that would not listen to reason? He honestly hoped that they were exaggerating when it came to her supposed psychosis and there was something they could do to avoid more violence. Even with that on his mind, though, Steven made rounds in order to check on every newly-reformed Crystal Gem and made sure they were handling the news well. Thanks to his presence, many of them were reinvigorated and fired up to defend their home once again.

As he walked around, the young half-Gem also took in the sight of the new neighborhood. Even amidst all this chaos, the efforts that were being put into making these new homes warmed his heart. Suddenly, he bumped into someone, the two tripping over one another.

"Oh, sorry about that!" apologized Steven.

"No, it's alright, I'm still not used to walking around much," replied the brown-colored Gem that was picking herself up off the ground.

"Hey, you're Biggs, right? Bismuth's old friend?"

"Heh, yeah!" Biggs said bashfully in a tone that contradicted her gravelly voice, "I… I wanna thank you for everything you've done for me and the rest of the Crystal Gems."

"Well, it's no big deal. At least now you don't have be bubbled all the time."

"I didn't mean just that. I meant what you did for Bismuth. I haven't seen her this happy in such a long time."

"What do you mean?"

"She used to be so easygoing, but as the war went on she became so aggressive and obsessed with fighting the Diamonds. She would lock herself in her forge for days working...and then one day she didn't come out."

"Oooooohhhh…"

"I know what Rose did had nothing to do with you, but frankly I agree she made the right decision. Bismuth was going too far in trying to essentially murder Homeworld Gems for the sake of winning. When I tried talking to her out of it, she started acting so cold and distant. I could tell she resented me for thinking differently than she did."

"And now she's better to you?"

"So much better! I don't know what exactly happened when I was gone, but ever since I've been around she's been so carefree and happy that it's like that awful argument never happened! I'm sure Bismuth has thanked you already for setting her straight, but I'd like you to personally know how much your effort means to me, Steven."

"Well," Steven said, "She really needed a friend to help her out. Especially with what was going on in her head that whole time. She... freaked out a little when I told her some stuff... She kinda screamed into a lava pool."

"Yeah, she did that in the old days too. It was my favorite way for us to spend time together back then."

"Really?" Steven said, "That's so cool… Hey, what did you think of mom? Y'know, as the leader of the Crystal Gems?"

"Rose was… Always there. No matter what, she made sure that everyone was at their best. Honestly, I kind of just fell into this group, but she still took me in. Showed me that there was more to my life than just following orders. She was a friend, but that's about it for me."

"Huh. Thanks Biggs," Steven said, smiling. The off-color Jasper grinned and gave him a thumbs up.

Meanwhile, in Pearl's room within the temple, the various Pearls were each contacting the other members of the Diamond Authority via Communication lines.

"My Diamond, you are aware I normally don't make requests, but I implore you to send more resources!" fretted Yellow Pearl, "Their weaponry here is the definition of archaic and their numbers, while bolstered, are still pitiful compared to Red Diamond's army of freaks!

"Ugh," Yellow Diamond said, "We are already stretched thin as it is. You will simply have to make do."

"My Diamond, I apologize for her rashness, but I agree with her sentiment," drawled Blue Pearl, "I sincerely doubt that these Crystal Gems will mount much of a fight. Especially considering that some of them are Defective."

"I understand, Pearl," sympathize Blue Diamond, "But with Red on the loose we've had to double-down on colony security and have sent out dozens of scouting vessels to keep an eye on her progress. What we have given is state-of-the-art technology and at the very least you have Pink's ship which can easily evacuate you all off the planet."

"We both know she'll save that for a last resort," rebutted Yellow Diamond, "But it might be her best option."

"_His _best option, Yellow."

"Ugh, sorry, that'll take some getting used to. Any word from Black Diamond?"

"He's pitching in as well," piped up Black Pearl, "He's staying in the observation tower around Earth's orbit in case he needs to intervene."

"That's all you know?" asked Yellow.

"My Diamond, he was… Very distracted by the various rooms in this temple. We practically had to drag him out of that defective quartz's chamber."

"You shouldn't say that about Steven's subjects," reprimanded Blue.

"There were so many fantabulous wonders in there! I was most intrigued by this green substance clinging to some objects and giving off this uniquely foul odor!"

"I knew Amethyst needed to clean more!" shouted Pearl, listening in on the discussion so as to keep aware of what they're next move was.

"That is not relevant to this subject," added White Pearl, stoic as always, "My Diamond is personally overseeing the protection of Homeworld and the most valuable colonies. Leave your personal squabbles out of this."

"Are you sure?" asked Black Pearl, "Because frankly I could go on all day about the marvelous decor of this room! Although, in my humble opinion, it could use some of that lava from Garnet's domain. What a contrast it would be!"

"If we could _please _stay on topic!" shouted Yellow Diamond, "What are _Steven's_ thoughts on this endeavor?"

"He's being as chipper as presumably always," Black Pearl said, "All he's been doing since is keeping the morale up with the Gems here."

"Some things never change, I see," remarked Blue Diamond, "He really is identical to Pink in that way. I'm sorry, Pearl, but we'll have to cut this short. I have other matters to attend to here."

"That goes the same for me. We'll be signing off now and check back in once we have checked our defenses or if we have contact with Red's forces. That will be all."

And with that, the connection were closed.

The five Pearls each exchanged nervous glances. Even White Pearl, beneath her calm exterior, felt a sense of dread that there was nothing even her magnificent Diamond could do to ease what was to come.

At the suburbs of Beach City was a much more chipper crew. Lars Barriga, better known to his entourage as Captain Lars, was showing his crew more of the town. While most would find the sight of a teenage boy with impossibly pink hair and skin unusual, they were barely spared a glance as the people around them prepared to either weather the storm or flee for the nearest city. It was easy considering that they already had an evacuation protocol in place under Mayor Nanefua that was already executed during the diamond attack on the night of Ruby and Sapphire's wedding.

"Captain, is this what humans normally do?" asked Rhodonite, "They all seem rather… panicked."

"Don't worry, it's just some Gem emergency Steven told everyone about."

"Should we be worried, Captain?" asked Fluorite as she slinked down the sidewalk.

"The second things look bad, we'll be safe in the ship," Lars told them reassuringly, "I've got Steven on speed-dial to let me know if anything comes up."

"Lars is about to tell us his backup plan in case things don't go well for us," said the off-color Sapphire known as Padparadscha. The captain could only chuckle at his smallest crew mate as he found her "late predictions" endlessly amusing. In fact, he had been far more jovial around his alien posse than he had around his own kind for years. Gone was the apathetic teenager bored of his school life and dead-end job at the Big Donut. After returning from his journey through the cosmos, he had a new lease on life as even the most mundane comforts he once took for granted were now appreciated.

The elements of Earth were also vastly appreciated by the Off-Colors, the refugees found the freedom of their new home exhilarating. If Pearl were there, she would say that they behaved with the exact level of curiosity, joy, and enthusiasm that Pink did when she first explored the planet under her now iconic alias of Rose Quartz.

The Rutile Twins were the most open with her enthusiasm, openly gawking at everything in sight and happily greeting every single person they met with an enormous smile on both faces on their shared body. Their passion was further exacerbated when they received an old cell phone from Lars so they could photograph the sights and mingle with people through the Internet.

Rhodonite, although she still had the occasional stutter, had her confidence improved by leagues and bounds since her arrival. A literal pain in her neck vanished now that she did not have to constantly look behind her for the next threat and as such, she was merely content with whatever they came across. Even with her considerably lowered stress, she was often the realist of the group who could think rationally alongside her captain. Her outfit changed to reflect this to a more proper attire compared to her original, uneven variation. Her afro was also less wild, looking as if she quite literally let her hair down.

Padparadscha had changed the least of all of them, endlessly optimistic and chipper as she tried to use her predictions to assist the crew. For her little had changed, but to the others she was a welcome source of levity and occasionally helpful with her ability to see things others have overlooked in hindsight.

Fluorite, the mother figure of the group, was as tranquil as always. Any place where she was free to be herself was welcome to her and the transition from a dank cave to an easygoing coast with gorgeous sunrises and gentle breezes suited her just fine. She admitted that the proportions of the two were awkward as her not paying attention could mean blocking off a street or crushing a mailbox. Even still, the six-Gem fusion was even more at peace than before. "This planet is every bit as wonderful as Steven said it would be," she said in her slow, kind voice.

"You think we should help people with leaving?" asked Rutile's left half.

"Ooh, maybe we can have Fluorite give them rides!" offered her right half.

"Eh, it's a possibility," shrugged Lars.

"Captain, should be so r-relaxed about all this?" questioned Rhodonite, "Not that we're doubting you, but maybe we should stay in the ship until this is all over?"

"How about we head back there once the tour is over? I still have to show you where Sour Cream has his raves!"

That day at sunset, Steven was quietly eating dinner after a long day of boosting the confidence of the small Gem army. With him was Lion who was munching on Lion Lickers, his favorite snack. Steven giggled at how messy Lion was eating and provided a much needed distraction from the impending threat.

"You know, one of these days, I'm going to teach you proper manners!"

Lion just raised an eyebrow at him, eliciting laughter from the youngling who knew as well as the feline did that that was never going to happen. The two finished their meal in peace and began to clean up when two gems entered from the outside.

"Oh hey Biggs!" he greeted one of the two gems at the door. The other one was a large, black gem with white streaks all over her with one of them blocking out her right eye. "Who's your friend?"

"This is Snowflake, another close friend of Bismuth's I told her about you and she wanted to meet you."

Steven stood up and moved to greet the new Gem, but Lion began growling at the pair and moved in between them.

"Lion, what gives? These are Crystal Gems, relax!"

The feline was undeterred, though, and crouched as if he were ready to bounce. The Gems took a step back from the large savannah cat. "Sorry guys," Steven said, "Lion isn't usually this aggressive."

"Steven, please call off your pet so we can talk," requested Biggs, trying to make herself look harmless by holding her hands in front of her face. Snowflake, however, was not as diplomatic and tried grabbing Lion's mane. The pink cat retaliated by swatting her hand away with deceptive speed and clawing her in the face.

"LION! That was mean! Bad boy! Bad…"

His reprimanding was cut short when he caught sight of Snowflake's injured face. Despite Gems having no blood or organs, she still looked a bit too damaged for comfort.

"Wha-?"

He was interrupted once again when Snowflake lashed out with her other hand and belted Steven in the face with a backhanded punch while the other hand cradled her face. Now Lion looked truly angry as he roared and lunged at the dark Gem.

"What in the world is going on in there?!" shouted Pearl from outside. She kicked down the door and, along with Lapis Lazuli and Bismuth following behind her, and caught sight of the cat fight in progress.

"Biggs?! Snowflake!? What are you doing in here?!"

"Bismuth! W-We were just looking to meet Steven… For all he did for us?"

"That's weird. Garnet just sent you both into town for more supplies ten minutes ago."

"And yet here you are, empty handed," finished Lapis now moving to opposite sides of the flustered Gem with Pearl following suit. Bismuth locked the door behind her and stood in front to barricade them in.

"Besides, Lion doesn't just attack anyone randomly. If he distrusts you, something is seriously wrong," added Pearl as she drew her spear.

Biggs, much to the confusion of everyone, chuckled to herself. "So you're smarter than you look. Guess there's no point for the disguises anymore."

Then, in what might have been the most surreal thing Steven had ever seen, Biggs and Snowflake both reached a hand under their chin and pulled off their faces as if they were nothing but masks. Then suddenly, their very appearances began to shimmer and fade into light. In their places were two magenta-colored Gems that resembled off-color, much taller Rubies. Both of them had short, cropper hair and were as tall as Pearl, but with a lankier build. Both of them had perfectly circular gemstones with a swirl-pattern on them and both wore grins that made it clear they enjoyed clobbering people for the heck of it.

"You're coming with us, 'Son' of Pink," one of them said.

"Whether you want to or not," the other one added.

"OVER MY SHATTERED GEM!" roared Pearl as she leapt at the Gem formerly known as Biggs with the intent to kill. Instead of dodging, the malevolent invader formed her right arm in a razor-sharp blade and parried the strike. She then took out a familiar tool with her left hand…

"That's… !" Steven began as he knew the weapon too well.

It was a Gem Destabilizer, used exclusively to pacify enemies by disrupting their forms therefore forcing them back into their cores so they could be abducted. (Your turn)

"Steven, run!" shouted Lapis as she unfurled her wings and curled them into fists. She tried punching the magenta Gem into oblivion, but she proved capable of dodging both attackers. When she was not trying to slice them into submission with her blade, she was trying to poof them and render them helpless. To make matters worse, her arm kept changing forms every few seconds. Sometimes it was a common sword, others it was a random assortment of spikes and barbs, and still others it was a blunt instrument made for smashing. The sight was even more disturbing by how her formed changed: her arms literally melted as if it were liquid before reforming again. The Crystal Gems thought it was disgusting, the equivalent of a human mutilating himself to make his own body into weapons.

The other aggressor, meanwhile, was having a tougher time against the efforts of Lion and Bismuth. Between the blacksmith trying to pound her Gem in regardless of the consequences and the feline clawing and biting at her in an effort to protect his master, this one was pushing her body to a different level. Spikes emerged from her body at random intervals to try and impale her attackers, but both of them were one step ahead. It eventually came to the point where she melted her entire body, even her Gem, into a sentient puddle and wrapped herself around Bismuth like a living restraint.

"So weak… So restricted…" she taunted as she reformed her head right next to Bismuth's face, "Why not surrender yourself? Red Diamond can make you greater than you ever imagined."

"GET OUTTA MY HOME, YOU FREAK!" she screamed before biting the Gem's face and finally freeing herself. The insane Gem slunk off her and reformed under Lion instead, sending several spines into his paws and making him roar in pain.

Before the Gem could revel in her brief victory, she was distracted by the bright pink shield that slammed into her face. Her focus was now on Steven, looking halfway between crying and bashing her face as he bared his weapon at her.

"Steven, no! Get away, get help!" demanded Pearl, but that proved her undoing. With her eyes taken off the enemy, the magenta shapeshifter planted an axe blade directly into her chest. Her pain was only cut off by her quickly retreating into her stone, much to everyone's horror.

Lapis yelled as she charged her, but in her rage she completely forgot the Destabilizer in her opponent's other hand. With one quick jab, arcs of green electricity wracked her body before she too was reduced to a helpless stone.

"Don't hurt them!" yelled Steven as he ran up to collect the vulnerable cores only to be ensnared by one of the Gems as she turned her arms into cords and wrapped them around his neck.

"Now then, you're coming with us. Our Diamond is _very _eager to meet you."

Bismuth and Lion both charged, but the other magenta assailant kept them in place by turning her entire form into a large tripwire that ensnared their feet as they ran past her.

Not even allowed to get a word in, Steven was dragged kicking and screaming out of his own house by the insane raider. Once they had successfully left the building, the other Gem released her opponents and fled the scene. Bismuth and Lion just stood in the now empty room dumbstruck by the ambush until a massive horde of Crystal Gems burst in and started asking what had happened.

Out in the nearby area, far from any of his friends or family, Steven was now in a bubble courtesy of the two unknown Gem enemies, afraid. "Wh-Where are you taking me?" he asked.

"Ugh, where else?" one of them responded in disgust, "To our temporary base to inform your capture to Red Diamond of course."

"Who are you?! Why are you doing this?! What does Red Diamond want with me?!"

"I will answer that," claimed an eerily familiar voice as a slender being approached them. Once he could make out her features, his stomach turned. It was another Pearl, her face identical to the Pearl he has known for so many years, only colored entirely red and wearing typical nursing attire.

"These two are Spinels, Red Diamond's ground troops and infiltrators. We are doing this because My Diamond has been eager to meet you, as you have been told by these two. And as for why Red Diamond wants to see you…"

The Pearl gave Steven a smile that made his skin crawl. The kind that comes not from genuine love, but from insanity.

"She wants to study you. She believes that with your unique physiology you can be the greatest breakthrough in her work yet. I can hardly wait myself."

Steven did a nervous gulp upon hearing this as they made it to a small clearing not far from the woods where he and the Gems first met Black Diamond. Instead of a massive spaceship, though, he was brought into small, asymmetrical pod with no identifiable shape. As the uncanny Pearl left to pilot the strange vessel, the Spinels stayed behind to guard him. The boy tried to communicate with the two, but instead got one of them to pull out a red prism similar to the one found on the moon base. With a twist of the top, it eventually revealed a screen that brought him face to face with Red Diamond herself.

"Greetings, Steven. Looking for a conversation? If so, then you are free to talk to me about anything you wish."

"W-Why are you doing all this? Why are attacking me friends?"

"Oh-ho, selfless as always! Just like Pink was in a way!," the mysterious Gem contemplated before continuing, "My spies informed me of you how you spent hours reassuring your servants. Fruitless, but sentimental nonetheless. I can't wait to further research you to see the physical similarities you and your mother shared! Perhaps a dissection, to start with."

"D-D-Dissect me?!" Steven said, "Like a lab rat!?"

"It is alright, young one," she said in a calming demeanor, which only made her creepier, "You'd be well cared for in a personal facility, one with even better accommodation than that Zoo your mother was given…"

Steven was now very much afraid of this Gem and what she could do to him. "Pearl," she said, "Thank you for this gift. I shall send a vessel to retrieve you immediately. Please keep our guest safe from any… far more _unwanted_ visitors…"

"But of course, My Diamond. I will have him and the surrounding area under constant surveillance until we depart." The Pearl moved to a nearby control panel as Red refocused her gaze on Steven as he tried to keep himself from losing his dinner...


	5. Chapter 5

Hello everyone! I hope you are enjoying your summer! Oh, and as for the review left by, TheLethalSperg500... you may wanna brace yourself for this chapter as well.

As always, read, review, and enjoy!

**Chapter 5: Retaliate**

What was formerly a calm night for the Crystal Gems had turned into unrestrained bedlam. With knowledge that not only did Red Diamond have infiltrators capable of disguising themselves as their friends disturbing enough, but they nearly shattered two of their members and made off with Steven in no time flat. Bismuth explained the entire situation to the Gems, plus Lion who was literally licking his wounds from his fight, leaving them all picking their jaws up off the floor.

"Whaaaaaaat!?" yelled Amethyst in pure shock and terror.

"This is simply insane!" screeched Peridot, horrified at the Gems she heard about.

"Everyone, this is no time to panic!" yelled Garnet, "We need to focus on getting Steven back."

"But what if he's in space already?" asked one of the more paranoid Gems.

"Then we go to Lars and the Off-Colors and have them fly as many of us into space as possible. Next question."

"Wait a minute!" Centi said suddenly, "Maybe there's a chance that he's still on Earth! We need to track him down!"

"Then we do that instead. We have more than enough Gems here to do both."

"But what if there's more of those creeps?! They'll just get us when we split up!" mentioned another Gem in the crowd.

"Maybe there's more of them here already!"

"Well how can we tell?! It could be anyone?!"

"Why'd you say that, huh?! Maybe _you're _one of them!"

"You can't prove that!"

"I want Rose Quartz here! She'd know what to do!"

"Don't talk like that!"

"Of course you'd say that, traitor!"

"ALL OF YOU, SHUT UP!" screamed Jasper, of all Gems, as she pushed her way alongside Garnet. "Crying like pebbles isn't getting us anywhere! Now what we're going to do is find the clods who did this and pummel them into oblivion!"

"How are we gonna do that? Steven could be here, or in space!"

"We've got enough bodies to break us into groups so we can spread ourselves out. Like the war machine said, we've got a spaceship to track them down in case they did leave the planet."

"But...The spies…"

"We make the groups about ten each, big enough so they can get stuff done, but if one's revealed to be a spy we can overpower them easily."

"Biggs and Snowflake are still out there. We need to go look for them," added Bismuth.

"Get the organics to do that. You sent them into town, so they should still be between here and there. We've got enough problems here. Any more dumb questions?"

The entire assembly was silent. Some, like Bismuth and Amethyst, were silently fuming at Jasper.

"Then get out there!" she then said, "What are you staring at me for?!"

The mass of Gems poured out of the beach house, mostly out of fear that Jasper would start taking her anger out on them if they questioned her. Even still, they were more concerned for Steven's safety than their own, even if barely.

Eventually, the only ones left besides a sleeping Lion were Jasper and Garnet.

"I'm impressed. That was very productive of you," complimented the latter. The orange bruiser snorted at her sympathy. She and Garnet did not have the best of relationships.

"Whatever. Let's just get this done with."

"I'm surprised your taking the initiative of saving Steven, of all people."

"Look, I still hate that kid, even more than I hate all of you, but the sooner we get him back the sooner you can all stop moping and I can go back to glaring at all of you in peace. Now get your fused butt out there and help."

Meanwhile, Steven was in a cell. Unlike the cell in Peridot's old ship, this cell had actual solid bars that were study enough to keep in Steven. The energy barrier was there nonetheless, but it seemed to taunt him now.  
"Wh-What am I gonna do!?" Steven said in a slight panic, "I can't let them take me to Red Diamond…!"  
"Steven… ? Steven, is that you!?"  
At first, as the sound of that voice, Steven believed it to be the Red Pearl, back to check on him, however, after hearing the voice fully… "P-Pearl!?" He called out, "Is that you?!"

The reformed Gem stood in her own cell next to his. Unlike him, the problem for her was the barrier as she got a harsh zap for reaching through the bars.

"What are you doing here? Those spiny-Gems grabbed you?"

"Seems so. Apparently they didn't want any witnesses to the incident. Lapis is here with me too." She held the gemstone of the Gem in question in her hands as she spoke.

"What are we going to do? That Diamond wants to make me her personal science experiment!"

"I heard. That...other Pearl enlightened me to her plan. If I had a stomach, I would have emptied it thanks to her."

"What about the other Diamonds? Can't they help?"

"I'm sure the other Gems are already on their way trying to find us, but I sincerely doubt that the Diamonds will lend a hand here. They have… skewed priorities."

Steven looked confused at this response, but nonetheless said, "Yeah… Wait, the other Gems will know I'm missing by now. I'm sure they'll find a way to come and get us!"

"_That _I believe. The only question is how fast will they pick up on the trail and if they can be here before we are forced to leave Earth's surface."

"And why exactly would you want that?" asked none other than Red Pearl, staring at them from outside the cells. Both of the prisoners glowered at her artificial smile.

"Why? WHY?! Are you sincerely asking me that, you cracked asylum reject?! I spent eons fighting for freedom against brutal dictators! Why would I _ever _submit to one willingly?!" screamed Pearl as she nearly touched the energy barrier that ran along the bars.

"Because Red Diamond is not a dictator, she is a philanthropist and a visionary looking to improve our kind in ways the old Diamond Authority could only imagine."

Steven could only be creeped out by this bizarre servant Gem and how as she talked, her smile got more and more… _animated_.

"Red Diamond's genius was ignored by her colleagues, shamed into exile purely because she chose to break their incessant clinging to outdated standards! And now look where their mighty empire has gone: cost one of their own their lives, forced them to remove another from power, their resources dwindling thanks to endless production, and countless organisms terminated since they refuse to acknowledge diversity! But with Red's help, we could all be so much better. We could be a race of unique creatures, possessing endless potential for growth and evolution! Isn't that the philosophy Pink encouraged? To be your own unique individual?"

"No, it's not! There's more to it than that!" shouted Steven.

"Really now? Then clarify for me, what was her concept?"

"She wanted a Gem to be whatever they _wanted _to be, not one someone else makes them! Red Diamond makes Gems the way _she _wants, she doesn't ask what everyone thinks! I never asked to do this and neither did Pearl! If you really cared, you'd let us go and let us decide instead of kidnapping us! The other Diamonds may have made mistakes, but at least they're trying to get better. You could be better too, you know, if you let us go…"

The red-clad Gem paused for a second, then frowned, "But I already _am _better. I'm perfect. Powerful. I am at my full potential… which is more than what I can say for most Pearls…"

Her subtle frown and oddly cheery voice made for a creepy scene that Steven had to witness. She continued, "A lot of Gems believed that the 'rebel Rose Quartz' was taking things too far. But in My Diamond's own opinion, she did not take it far enough. Luckily, the great Red Diamond shall-"

Her praise was interrupted by a deafening BOOM that shook the walls of the vessel and forced all three of them to their knees.

Pearl was the first to speak, "What on Earth was that!?"

"Intruders?" responded Red Pearl to herself as she walked off to man the security systems. The two Spinel Gems from before took her place and watched each of their cells to ensure the captives would not try anything.

"I knew it!" Steven said in confidence.

The Spinel guards outside the ship did not have the benefit of having captives to watch to keep their interest. Instead, they had to stand by the front port and keep their eyes out for any innocuous detail that could signal an intruder. This meant many times they left their post to investigate a sudden noise in the forest around them only to find it was a non-threatening organic lifeform and that their searching was a waste of time. At the very least they could impale whatever they found and bring it to Red Diamond in case it was useful to her studies.

When one of them left for the umpteenth time, the other magenta Gem had to resist the urge to roll her eyes. What finally got her attention was how after several minutes, her partner did not come back. When she finally did return, she naturally had questions.

"What kept you?" she asked. No response from her partner as she resumed her post.

"What, something out there frighten you?" she taunted with a smirk. The other Gem barely even glanced at her.

"Come on, give me something!"

The other Spinel gave a worryingly large grin and proceeded to tap a point on the back of her neck revealing a blue and orange Jasper.

"What the-?!"

Before the other Gem could raise the alarm, the now-revealed Gem summoned her crash helmet and pounded the guard into the pod's hull so hard that it created a deafening noise heard by everyone inside. Once she was out cold, she signaled for the rest of the cavalry.

"Man, that was priceless! I should've got a picture!" laughed Amethyst as she grabbed the other Spinel and dragged her into the forest to join her ambushed double.

"Gotta hand it to the Diamonds, those odd devices really work," commented Garnet.

"Yeah, yeah, save the schmaltz for later," Jasper rebutted, "We've got to get this rig set up fast before any other guards come by."

The rig she was referring to was a portable power nullifier that would instantaneously knock out any and all electronic systems on Red Diamond's pod, making it impossible for it to take off or monitor the prisoners. Although it was a small crystalline prism about the size of Jasper's hand, it needed time to read the layout of the vessel's systems and layout before it activated.

"Right!" Amethyst said, getting more serious. After all, she only needed to remind herself that Steven and Pearl were in danger!

As they attached the nullifier to the hull of the ship, they sent the other seventeen Crystal Gems who joined on their rescue operation to search the surrounding forest for any patrol, drone, or scanner that would give away their location and potentially compromise the rescue mission.

Inside the ship, Red Pearl watched the entire proceeding with a bored expression as if she were witnessing mediocre entertainment instead of a compromising break-in.

"_How amateurish," _she thought to herself, "_If they think we are so vulnerable, they are in for a surprise. My Diamond accounts for _every _situation."_

She activated a hologram monitor and began inputting commands for the pod's defense systems. A nasty grin appeared as she also turned to watch the expression of the intruders once her commands kicked in.

Suddenly, the search party then heard an odd humming noise...  
"What's that noise… ?" one of them asked.

However, the question was then answered as dozens of hunting drones began to approach them menacingly. Much like the ship itself, the swarming bots were a chaotic mishmash of shapes, sizes and pointy bits sticking out every angle with the only consistency being their color.

"What the heck!?" Amethyst said in shock.

"We've been compromised!" Jasper said, tension in her voice, "Spread out!"

Within seconds it was pure pandemonium as Crystal Gems ran this way and that between the trees and the clearing. Some took the offensive, bringing out their weapons to pulverize any drone that came too close. Others, especially those unfortunate enough to have multiple attackers, were forced on the defensive and ran helter-skelter trying to make the drones crash or shake them off. They could not tell, but now Red Pearl was watching their entire panic like a sports game.

"That nullifier goes off in five minutes! Hold your ground!" ordered Garnet as she smacked two charging drones with her gauntlets.

Jasper, armed with her offensive helmet, rammed two more of the odd drones releasing her aggression, yelling with every strike.

Suddenly the drones began to behave differently they began to cluster together like a miniature cloud of some sorts. Suddenly, a large number of them fired in unison their energy blasts crossing together into a powerful projectile! Amethyst was barely able to dodge it! But it completely destroyed a tree that was hit instead, leaving only a charred stump and some large, damaged branches.

"I repeat," she said, "What. The. _Heck!?_"

"This can't be random," commented Jasper, "Someone's guiding them!"

"How much longer do we have to take this?!"

"It's almost fully charged," answered Garnet, "Just a little bit longer!"

"Argh!" was Amethyst's reaction, "This is TAKING TOO LONG!" She then tried to assault the clumped up drones, but to no avail as it charged up a counterblast brutally hitting the quartz Gem, damaging her form enough to poof her!

Jasper just groaned as she bubbled Amethyst's stone and sent it to the temple as the remaining troops did their best to avoid her fate.

Steven and Pearl were watching the whole thing from a monitor near their cells. Pearl was actually shocked at the applications at the disposal of Red Diamond's forces. As she ran through escape scenarios in her head while the battle raged on outside, Steven was more worried at the sight of Amethyst being poofed and sent back to the temple by Jasper of all people. It seemed like a losing battle at first. However, just when all hope seemed lost there was a pulse of energy, then suddenly the feed was dead. In fact, ALL of the systems seemed to be shutting down. This included the energy screens keeping the duo imprisoned.

Upon this realization, both Pearl and Steven didn't waste any time busting through the bars, which were now much weaker. However the moment the two broke out, they were quickly met by the Spinels guarding them. Pear immediately summoned her trusty spear-turned-trident and prepared to spar against the two guards. The two Spinels nodded, then their arms slowly turned into elongated, bladelike appendages and then ran at the two escapees.

Pearl immediately blocked her incoming opponent while Steven leapt above the other one so she ran underneath of him. As the former fought the elongating Gem off, Steven successfully got behind the other one and threw his shield at the back of her head. Unfortunately, she just stretched her neck out of the way to dodge, but the damage was done as he instead tripped up the other Spinel and grabbed Pearl's hand. The two dashed down the corridor with the magenta Gems in hot pursuit, only stopping when Lapis' gemstone began glowing. Within a few seconds, she had fully reformed.

"Ugh… What hit me?" she asked woozily. One look at the blood-colored metallic corridor and the maniacal Gems with sword-arms was enough to get her caught up to speed.

"We've been captured again, haven't we?"

"Yep," replied both her allies.

"Great…"

"And you'll be back in cells once we're done with you!" goaded one of the Spinels as she rushed forward ready to stab Lapis. The aquatic Gem, rather than being intimidated, summoned her wings and balled them up into massive watery fists. The poor Spinel barely saw it coming as she was decked by the gigantic hand and sent flying into a wall so hard she poofed.

Before the other could respond, Lapis flew straight at her and uppercut her with enough force to leave an implant in the ceiling.

"I've spent enough time trapped," Lapis said with clam menace, "Maybe you should try it." She picked up the now unconscious Spinel and flung her at Pearl who quickly acted and impaled the guard on her weapon so she would be confined to her stone.

"Wow Lapis, that was… brutal," commented Steven, shocked by her methods.

"Eh, it worked. Now let's get out of here before more of them show up!"

The three then proceeded down another corridor in an attempt to flee, however by some cruel sense of irony, they ended up at the bridge of the ship! And there, standing in front of them, was Red Pearl.

She was looking in front of her trying to see if the screen can be repaired. However, she turned to face the group with a creepy smile adorning her face.

"It seems your group is more than meets the eye, Steven," she complimented, "Now I truly understand why My Diamond is so eager to study you. To think of all the potential you have…"

"Yeah, that's not gonna happen. If you want him to be your little science experiment, you have to get through us first," boasted Lapis as she and Pearl stood between their charge and the demented servant.

"Steven!" shouted Garnet's voice from down another hallway. Before long, the permafusion joined them along with a grinning Jasper.  
"Really? She lets a Pearl fly her ship? This really is backwards…" Jasper muttered to herself, causing Red Pearl to laugh in response.

"Ah yes, the Jasper recently recovered from corruption. Still stuck in Homeworld's ways despite your time on Earth. How dreadful."

"Why you little-!"

"Enough," ordered Garnet, "Let us all go. It's five-on-one and your ship is completely helpless."

Once again, the crimson-clad servant laughed in spite of the obvious danger she was in. Even Steven's saintly patience was starting to be tested by her constant chuckling.

"It seems you all are truly incapable of understanding Red Diamond. She is a visionary with the capability to revolutionize all of Gemkind, yet you are all concerned over petty disputes and egos. Perhaps if Pink Diamond herself were here, she would have a greater appreciation for-"

That was as far as Red Pearl got before the classic Pearl smacked her in the face with her trident with a look of pure, unbridled rage on her face.

"SHUT! UP! Shut your mouth, you maniacal piece of garbage. Rose Quartz is nothing like you! How DARE you pretend to comprehend her philosophy?! She encouraged every Gem to follow their own passion, not become brainwashed lackeys for a crackpot scientist! And if you say one more word otherwise, I will shatter you here and now and then throw your shards into the nearest supernova!" Every word out of her mouth was spoken with such vitriol that it made even Jasper nervous. Her promise to murder the Gem was no exaggeration. Steven was about ready to start trembling.

And yet, even with Pearl's weapon inches from her face, the red secretary Gem laughed it off.

"Seems you have quite the psychological complex! As amusing as your little outburst was, I must correct you on one statement. I am not brainwashed to serve My Diamond. Every action I make is of my own free will and my desire to assist Red Diamond in reshaping our kind is out of a genuine belief that she is helping the universe."

"By kidnapping people?" asked a very confused Steven. The Gems also looked at her with perplexed expressions, save for Jasper who was just tired of her monologuing. Another small chuckle came from her before she resumed speaking.

"Still questioning my rationale? Let me add one final note. Red Diamond also has the capability to make a Gem far more powerful than any previously created under the Diamond Authority. And if the Spinels were not enough of an example, let me give you a personal demonstration."

With that said, the round stone on the small of her back began glowing with a blinding scarlet light that soon enveloped her body and forced the others to look away or be blinded. As her body was consumed by the light, a dangerously large smile was on her face as she began her metamorphosis. A second set of arms emerged from her waist as her entire body grew to be a head taller than Garnet. Her form was also noticeably more muscular, yet still maintained her physique as the rest of her became more and more alien. An enormous tail emerged from above her legs, easily as thick as Steven's torso and almost as tall as she was. All four of her arms ended in hands with claws sharp enough to puncture metal with ease. Sharp black lines ran along her entire form as her transformation was finished and she looked upon the Gems with a psychotic grin that made it plainly evident she did not see people in front of her. She saw fresh meat.  
Needless to say, the three Crystal Gems present were internally freaking out upon seeing this monstrous form.

Pearl was the first to actually speak, "Wh-What the heck is that thing!?"

Steven was actually speechless whereas Lapis simply stared at it, wide-eyed. Suddenly the Gem before them lunged at them!

Garnet was doing a much better job of hiding her shock, but deep down she felt a sense of terror she had not experienced in ages. Jasper, meanwhile, was utterly revolted by the horrid creature before her.

"Ugh," she said, "That's disgusting. What kind of Gem _lets _that happen to them?!"

Apparently, Red Pearl did not appreciate the comment since the goliath of a Gem dashed towards her with disturbing quickness, given her new size. Jasper, however, immediately dodged the assault and proceeded to punch the thing's face to no effect. Instead, the mutated Pearl's tail slammed into the bruiser hard enough to smash her clean through the wall and nearly into unconsciousness.

"Well, great…" moaned Garnet, not even needing her future vision to see that this was not going to end well.


	6. Chapter 6

Hello everyone! Sorry for the absence, but hey, summertime, right? Anyway...  
To **Max waspace**: Oh yes... And more...

Anyway, prepare to have your blood run cold as Milo F Waters and I bring you this dark beauty of a chapter, enjoy!  
And please leave a comment.

**Chapter 6: Face-Off**

In most circumstances, outnumbering your enemy meant you had a higher chance of success. There are times, however, when the outvoted had a way to even the playing field. For Red Pearl, that was essentially turning herself into a ten-foot-tall goliath that looked like she could take on an army by herself and still come out smiling.

The four remaining Crystal Gems looked up at the mutated creature, hoping that the remainder of their forces outside could deal with the now small number of drones soon enough to provide assistance. If luck was really on their side, maybe one of the other groups would come to assist them and further bolster their numbers.

As for now, it was three anxious aliens and one hybrid against the now-monstrous Red Pearl. With Jasper out of the fight for now, Garnet was her first target due to being the most physically intimidating. The four-armed Gem moved with that same underlying agility, punching and swiping with her claws along with trying to slam the fusion with her gargantuan tail. Garnet could only just barely keep up her defense and were it not for her future vision she would have surely lost already.

With their foe distracted for the moment, Pearl tried to formulate a plan but that was proving difficult. She knew for a fact that this… creature was stronger than any of them could handle, but was also intelligent enough to think strategically. They could try fusing, but no doubt the Gem would recognize what they were doing and put a stop to it. Lapis was handicapped due to a lack of available water and Steven, bless his heart, had never even tried to tackle anything like _this_ head on. With such limited options, Pearl settled for an old-fashioned sneak attack and hope to land a critical blow while Red Pearl's focus was on Garnet. The moment she saw an opening, Pearl dashed in and landed a deadly stab with her trident.

Or at least… it would have been deadly to any normal Gem. It barely did any damage to the thing. It _did_ seem to sting, though, as Red Pearl cried out in pain only to wheel around and strike at Pearl! She flew back several feet, almost slamming against the wall. Luckily that didn't do any heavy damage and Pearl was able to slowly stand up.

With another team member almost down, Lapis decided to step in by unfurling her wings and darting straight for the monster's midsection with the hopes of toppling her and making her easier to deal with. Right as she was about to hit, though, Red Pearl caught her in two of her hands and began squeezing with all the force she can muster. The aquatic Gem screamed in pain as she felt her gemstone strain from the grip, tears already forming as she could feel hairline fractures forming. Garnet tried to step in, but all that got her was being grabbed by Red Pearl's tail and slammed into the floor like a ragdoll over and over again until she was seeing stars.

"STOOOOP!" shouted Steven, clearly about to cry himself, "If you want me so bad, come and get me!"

"Steven…?!" yelled Pearl, "Don't… try to be brave..."

"Get… Out of here…" gasped Lapis as her form began to flicker as her core was cracked.

Their pleas fell on deaf ears as Steven instead brought out his shield and ran straight at the monster. The mutated Pearl grinned, wanting to see more of what this life form was made of, and dropped Lapis before she was fully shattered.

The two ran at each other with equal velocity, Red Pearl almost leaving dents in the pod's floor as she ran, and readied both her left hands for a punch. Much to her own surprise, Steven did not try to dodge and instead took the hit. Despite the impact making a shockwave, Steven barely budged and his expression made it clear that this was one of the rare points in his life where he was _done. _His patience was gone and he was going to make Red Pearl listen to him.

Red Pearl flung him aside, but instead of crashing into the wall he managed to slow down enough to gently on the wall before rocketing off even faster than his first charge and landed the first real blow to the mutant. The sucker punch to the gut made her yowl in pain, much to the amazement of the others.

"Since when could he do that?" asked Pearl, wondering if it was merely all of those Lonely Samurai movies he watched. Garnet, however, thought it was something else. Red Pearl, however, roared and gave a brutal punch to Steven in turn. He couldn't dodge it, so instead he was just barely able to block it, by conjuring his mother's shield. Even then the shield actually began to crack a bit upon the initial impact! Red Pearl was about to deal another blow only for Garnet to punch her brutally knocking her back.

"Steven," she said, "Are you alright?" (Your turn)

"Y-Yeah…" he responded as his confidence began to falter, "I've never seen my shield give like that, though."

"Just keep focused. Go help Lapis, though, before she gets more damaged."

Red Pearl was not going to let that happen, though, as she stood over the fallen flyer and readied all of her arms to land a final blow sure to shatter her. Before she could hit, though, she was bowled over by a fiery orange sphere that sent her to the floor.

"That's for knocking me out, you overgrown clod!" boasted Jasper as she stood in front of the fallen Lapis, clearly itching for a proper fight. Steven, at the same time, was with Lapis as well and used his healing spit on Lapis' gem.

"J-Jasper?" she asked, clearly stunned as she came to her senses, "Why would you-"

"This isn't about you. This is about me showing this _defect _whose boss!"

Red Pearl snarled at that word. She regained her footing and barreled towards her, sending her tail straight at her face.

Jasper summoned her crash helmet as she sped past the incoming appendage and instead jumped on it as it rushed past her, using it as a springboard to get her right into Red Pearl's face and smash into her stone with as much force as possible. For the first time, Red Pearl looked genuinely hurt as while he stone was still whole it sent waves of pain through her like a shot of raw agony.

"Now get out of here! I'll break this one myself!"

"Not going to happen," rebutted Garnet as she stood alongside Jasper, "But we need to hold her off long enough for Steven to escape."

"Are you two insane?!" asked Pearl, "She's way too much for either of you!"

"Maybe alone, but we're the best fighters and need to stick together. Steven, take Pearl and Lapis outside and once you do, you go home while they get the other Gems in here so we can have a better chance."

"Right," Steven said, as he saw Lapis heal successfully. The two nodded and began to leave. However, Red Pearl was obviously _very_ determined. She rushed at Garnet and Jasper, rapidly curving around them and ran headlong in Steven's direction! The shocked boy summoned his shield again. This time the weapon did not hold and, for the first time, fully broke as the monstrosity crushed him against the wall with all her weight. What's worse, at least one of the Gems heard a sickening _snap_ as his frame hit the wall.

"STEVEN!" shouted everyone but Jasper though even she flinched. Once the boy was visible again, it was pretty clear both his arms were broken from trying to stop the charge with his weapon. Red Pearl did not look even the least bit worried as she stood over him with the same maniacal grin, ready to finish him off.

"WAIT!" shouted Pearl, "Don't you need him alive?!"

For once, Red Pearl looked confused as she glanced down at the broken form of Steven.

"Doesn't Red Diamond want him alive for her… studies? Is she going to get anything out of him like this?!"

The mutated Pearl, despite her current appearance, was still fully aware of what she was doing. While her form did make her nearly-unmatched in combat, such overwhelming power also made her careless and occasionally lose herself in the heat of battle. Looking down at the subject her Diamond coveted, she could tell something was seriously wrong as he was losing consciousness by the second.

"What are you doing?!" whispered Lapis furiously, "We don't _want _her to take him!"

"I'm trying to bargain! We obviously can't win like this, so we should try to outsmart her…"

"WHAT?!" roared Jasper, "I'm not running away from this freakshow! You pebbles may be too weak, but I'm not!"

The orange tank's outburst was, unfortunately, heard by Red Pearl and gave away their little plot. While the other Pearl was correct and that she needed Steven alive for the best possible results, she could still use the _other _Gems even if they were in pieces. She then picked up Steven gingerly with her tail as she stared down the other four ready to turn them into shards.

"Well great, now she knows! Thanks a lot!" yelled Lapis only to be cut off by Garnet.

"No time for arguing! We have to get Steven back home before he's hurt even more! Give her everything you've got!"

Seeing the young boy she cared for all these years in the clutches of this abomination was enough to put a fire in Pearl's eyes and summon her trident again. Garnet and Jasper did the same with their weapons while Lapis brought out her watery fisticuffs.

Red Pearl braced herself once again for combat. Pearl was the first one to strike by shooting out a handful of energy blasts from her trident, but for Red Pearl to dodge all of them easily. Lapis swung with her fists, but all that got her was being blocked and then sent flying by the mutant gem's tail. Jasper used her spin attack to try and trip the goliath up, but was just kicked away. As Garnet readied her offensive, Steven saw his family being thrown around like ragdolls and decided he was _not _going to be a hostage anymore.

He quickly summoned a bubble shield around him, forcing him out of Red Pearl's grip. He could feel his ribs ache from her grip and one of his arms was shot, but even still he refused to yield.

"Steven, what are you doing?!" exclaimed a worried Pearl, "You're in no condition to fight!"

"I know, but you guys are getting clobbered like this. At least now you can go all out!"

With that, he turned tail and ran for his life despite his instincts screaming at him to turn back and help his family.

Red Pearl quickly spotted her captive escaping and began stomping after him, only to find herself unable to move. When she turned around, she found Garnet and Jasper gripping her tail and holding her back with all her might.

"You're not...going to have him!" insisted Garnet.

"Less talking, more pulling!" commanded Jasper.

While she was incapacitated, Lapis took to the air with Pearl held in her arms with her trident pointing straight at Red Pearl's stone. Lapis flung the slender gem with all her might and sent her catapulting right for her weak spot.

"Tell Red Diamond she's never getting her hands on Steven, you monster!" she cried as she made her approach. Unfortunately, the Gem turned her head and saw her coming although not fast enough to stop the impact. Pearl's weapon landed squarely in throat, finally dealing a painful blow to the gem. She roared in pain as Pearl clung to her weapon and twisted it in even deeper. When she was eventually flung off, Garnet was there to catch her as all four of the Crystal Gems made a hasty retreat, only for Red Pearl to quickly rush after them in order to cut off their escape.

"This thing just doesn't quit!" hollered Lapis as she flew towards the exit.

"Can't she find someone else on Earth to experiment on?" asked Jasper angrily.

"Not gonna happen!" chastised Garnet and Pearl, clearly offended by her suggestion.

They were all relieved when they finally caught sight of the entrance and were able to breathe the night air once again. The only problem was that Red Pearl followed them outside and was already looking the injured Steven. Unfortunately, she found him as he apparently fell on his broken arm while escaping and only made a hundred feet away from the pod.

"STEVEN! Keep running!" shouted Pearl as her monstrous red counterpart grinned savagely and dashed towards him. Steven had no choice but to summon a bubble shield as Red Pearl tried to grab him. She sent all four of her fists pounding into the shield, the boy inside crying in pain as the shockwaves upset his injuries and pushed his already exhausted body.

"Pearl, we need to fuse now!" commanded Garnet, knowing that Sardonyx could finally give them a chance against this beast.

They forgot that Red Pearl was not as mindless as her demeanor would suggest, however, as she heard every word and stopped her onslaught on Steven to break up their fusing. Just as the two began dancing, the mutated Pearl grabbed Pearl and flung her with all her might. The white Gem flew for literal miles until she landed somewhere in the thicket with a booming crash.

Steven's heart froze upon that scene, seeing one of his loved ones brutally injured. The pain in his arm suddenly felt inconsequential to the sight of the indomitable Pearl being tossed aside like literal garbage.

Meanwhile, Jasper looked at the scene, and felt something she had never felt for a long time.

_Fear_. This thing was not an opponent, it was a monstrosity that could effortlessly tear them apart and the knowledge that _this _is what Red Diamond saw as the future of her species sickened her to her core. If this were the case, maybe working with the likes of the Crystal Gems really was the better option.

Red Pearl then turned back to them and gave a different grin, as if to say "_Now then, where were we?"_

With her back turned, however, she did not see Steven drop his bubble. She also did not see him summon his shield one more time and put all his remaining energy into a leaping strike. He hoped he could at least make their foe stumble and distract her long enough for the other Gems to get away, but he at least wanted to avoid being nothing more than a tagalong that dragged the others down. Once he started his rush, there was no stopping him as he sped like a bullet towards Red Pearl's legs. Unfortunately, her reflexes once again bested his as her mammoth tail snapped him upwards under his chin and sent him flying several feet in the air where he landed among the trees with a stomach-turning thud.

The other Gems did not know much about human anatomy, but they could tell any normal human would be dead instantly due to a broken neck.

Garnet watched Steven fall and once she lost sight of him, all the composure and patience she usually held vanish. Tears ran out from under her glasses, and she summoned her gauntlets with the intent to kill. She ran headlong into the fray, punching like mad and finally making Red Pearl try to block her attacks unless she wanted a nasty bruise.

However what she didn't notice, what everyone else DID notice was something that rocked them to their core…

Something… shocking. Something impossible.

Upon hitting the ground… Steven's body went _poof_…

_Leaving his gem behind…_


	7. Chapter 7

Yo, everyone! Sorry for the slight delay, but here it is, the newest, and by far, the LONGEST chapter of out little fanfic here! I guarantee you all will like this little beauty of a chapter. Heheheh!

But first let's get some reviews out fo the way:

GIANNI GANDOLFO (guest): Maybe, maybe not... it all depends... flying ducks101: Don't worry, this will all be resolved here in this lengthy chapter, prepare for an emotional roller coaster... OMAC001: You will have to find out...

Now with that out of the way, please remember to leave a comment, and as always, enjoy the story... HERE WE GO!

**Chapter 7: Mother's Day**

Silence…

That was all the unconscious hybrid heard as he slowly opened his eyes. Before him was an empty space around him, a nebula of stardust and asteroids floating in the vacuum of space. Varying shades of pink were around Steven, but outside his immediate surroundings all he saw was black.

Steven groaned slowly waking up foreso, he then became confused by his new location.

"Whoa…" he said, as he seemed to float in an empty space, "Where am I?"

Steven thought about it for a second, "I remember being with the others, we were in a fight against this crazy Gem… thing and- "

Steven stopped mid-sentence, the memory of what happened returned and made his blood run cold.

"OH MY GOD! Pearl! Garnet! Lapis! Jasper! Oh no… ! I… I gotta find a way back! I-!"

Before he could escalate into full-blown panicking, Steven heard something. A _voice_… but one that sounded truly familiar to him… "_Steven?_"

"W-W-W-W-What? I-I-Is that-?"

When he turned his head, a ripple in the inky void around him appeared and from that a face he never expected to see again appeared. A kind, matronly face surrounded by a massive head of curly pink hair. She was wearing the white layered dress that she was always seen wearing in every statue or picture commemorating her.

"Rose… I mean Mom… I mean…"

"Hello, Steven. I...understand this isn't the ideal place for us to meet."

To say the boy's feelings were jumbled would be an understatement equal to the universe is sort of big. He honestly had no idea how to feel finally being face to face with what appeared to be his long lost, long dead, mother.

"Mom…" Steven was still in disbelief, "Is… is it really you…?"  
Cautiously Steven reached out to touch Rose. His hand touched her cheek and _he actually felt it._ It really was his mother, and she really was there in front of him.

Overcome with joy, Steven slowly began to break down into tears and hugged her tightly. His mother reciprocated and for several minutes the anomaly of these two seeing each other meant nothing. All it was to them was a chance to _finally _meet the mother and son they have yearned for.

After what felt like an eternity, the two finally separated and stared at each other.

"You look so much like your father, you know," remarked Rose, "You have his eyes, his face, and his sense of humor."

"Awww…" blushed Steven, "And...you look like...You're pictures?"

"Heh, yes, I suppose I do. I don't know how, but I ended up having so many of those."

"Well, I can't imagine how many you had when you were Pink Dia-"

And with that word, the comfortable warmth between them fizzled out and died on the spot. Rose could only look down in shame while Steven realized he made a massive faux pas and covered his mouth.

"Yes… I guess there's no avoiding that," admitted the former Diamond, "I'm glad you took it so well."

"Kind of… I mean, it's still surprising, but it also explained a lot, but some of the other Gems like Sapphire got super angry at it and then-"

"You weren't the least bit upset with me?"

"Well…" Steven looked down for a second, "At first I was shocked, then worried about what this meant. I mean, a lot of things didn't make sense with you at the time. Then I learned you were Pink Diamond, and… and how you faked your own shattering and…" Steven paused for a second.  
"Leave it to Pearl to find a clever loophole to those orders…" Rose said, almost to herself, smirking, remembering her last 'Diamond' orders to Pearl not to speak of their past.  
"Y-Yeah," Steven said, "Then Sapphire ran away, and Pearl explained everything further. About how you were inspired by Garnet and- and everything. So… I wasn't upset, just… surprised… that's all."

Rose looked down at her son, marvelling at how mature he had gotten in the past year, and then began laughing to herself. Although Steven was confused, he started chuckling himself until he was laughing right along with her. Before long, Steven had to break the ice and ask just what they were laughing at.

"I-I think it's funny...H-How...Horrible of a parent...I would have been…" admitted Rose in between giggles.

This shocked Steven out of the humor-stupor he was in, "What?! What do you-?"

"I-I'm supposed to be an a-adult, right? The adult's the o-one who takes care of the child, right? But all you've done is fix everything I did yourself!"

By this point, her laughter turned to sobs.

"Th-Th-Then that means...I-I must have failed! I'm s-s-supposed to be responsible, b-but all I did was ruin everything and th-then l-left you a-a-and the G-Gems to fix my mistakes! I-I-I-I-"

"Don't talk like that!" he admonished her, "You did lots of great things too! I wouldn't be here without you and neither would the Crystal Gems!"

"S-See?! You're s-still the one t-trying to fix things! All I can do is-"

"-Get over what happened and move on," he finished, "Mom, I'm not gonna pretend you were perfect. I really wish some things didn't happen, but they still did and we all got through them."

Rose's tears finally stopped as she stared at her son, recognizing that sense of unbreakable spirit. It was the same one that let her press onwards no matter how hard the conflict with the other Diamonds and protect the planet she had come to love.

"You're right."

"Of course I am! I learned it from you!"

* * *

Meanwhile, in the outside world, Steven's gem laid there in a pile of his clothes. Garnet was in a blinding rage, attempting to beat down on the rogue Gem before her like there was no tomorrow. It was evident that this rage made the two equally matched, but that didn't matter to the permafusion. All that mattered to her was beating Red Pearl's face in along with every twisted experiment that inhumane Diamond ever touched.

Just as the two were deadlocked by their punches colliding with each other, Lapis and Jasper decided to rejoin the fight. The former was eager to put down the monster that hurt her first and closest friend while the latter was eager to pummel the freak of nature that had long since worn out her patience.

Despite their continued animosity, the two worked surprisingly well in tandem. While Garnet kept the beast occupied, the unlikely duo dealt blow after blow by constantly moving around the clearing. One would attack from above while the other went for the legs, they would move in pincer maneuvers and attack from two different angles, and occasionally they would even use each other as projectiles. The weirdest part was how they did all this without hardly any communication. Whether is was just having a common enemy or just some leftover connection from their time as Malachite was anyone's guess, but no one could doubt it would finally giving them the advantage over their colossal opponent.

After a final three-way attack from the Crystal Gems, Red Pearl roared in agony and was forced to revert to her original form. It seems that extended use of this new body combined with all the damage she took was finally enough to exhaust herself.

"W-What?!" exclaimed Red Pearl, clearly surprised by the transformation herself.

"So, does this mean you're gonna accept your pounding like a real Gem?" asked Jasper, clearly giddy to finally let out her aggression.

"As much as I enjoyed our little tussle, I am no shape to confront you now. I'll have to see what new modifications my Diamond can give me to ensure our next encounter is more decisive."

And with that smugly said, Red Pearl raised both her arms to the sky. Within seconds she was enveloped in a warp stream out of nowhere and disappeared to parts unknown.

"W-What the heck?!" gasped Lapis Lazuli.

"Oh come on!" shouted Jasper, "First you cheat with some mutant form, then you just _run away like a coward?! _Who does that?!"

"Gems, we have bigger concerns," ordered Garnet, "We need to find Steven, Pearl and any of the other Crystal Gems who got lost out here. Hopefully, most of them left for the temple or contacted reinforcements like we planned."

* * *

"..and then White Diamond let us go home, and she helped us fix the corrupted Gems! Well, with some encouragement from me and the other Diamonds, though."

Rose was shocked by Steven's story at this point. He insisted on telling her how he reformed White Diamond, but she didn't know just how bad things had gotten in her absence from Homeworld. She knew Gems were always seen as disposable, but hearing the stories of Topaz, Lapis Lazuli, and the Off-Colors just made her all the more grateful for trying to create a sanctuary for Gems to protect them from such draconian policies.

"So after all this time, the corrupted Gems are finally fixed. I can't believe that whole mess is finally over…" said Rose as she and Steven were laying on their backs next to each other while lazily staring out at the void around them. The longer they talked, the more the space around them lightened up until they were now surrounded by a pink-tinted version of space reaching for miles.

"Yeah, it's pretty crazy," admitted Steven, "I mean, it was great having so many new faces around, but it was kind of nuts too. I got called Rose more times than I could count."

Rose nodded weakly, realizing that such _would have been _the case upon Steven being born.

"And… I gotta say," Steven said, "I've learned to live with the truth."

"I know...It wasn't easy for me some days. Looking at all the Diamonds did after I was gone, though...Makes part of me wonder if this was the right decision."

"It could have been worse, though. Everything turned out alright in the end and that's all that matters."

"You're right...Again. I need to stop dwelling on the past so much. I've just had a lot of time for self-reflection in here."

"What I wanna know more about is Black and Red Diamond. How come you never told the others about them?"

"Because I honestly thought they'd never show up again," Rose paused before continuing, "In fact, I barely knew them myself. Black left, and Red was exiled. So I never got a chance to fully know them."

"Oh. That makes sense then."

"Back in the day, though, I actually liked Red Diamond. She was the only other one who seemed interested in other lifeforms, but…"

"It was to experiment on them, right? Blue Diamond mentioned that earlier."

"Yes. Not long after that, she was forced into exile and all her current projects were either discarded or forgotten about. It's still a mystery as to how she escaped to begin with."

Silence filled the air. Then Steven said, "Well, at least I'm making friends with Black Diamond now! He seems nice too."

Rose laughed a little bit, amused by his endless optimism. "I almost wish I could have known him now. At least now he can find a place with the other Gems now that they aren't so biased."

"I hope so...But part of me does wonder something."

"What's that?"

"How much are the Diamonds really dedicated to change?"

"Well, they've started calling every week to check up on me. According to them, they've stopped hunting for Off-Colors and are working towards ending their whole 'Fusion with other types of Gems is illegal' stuff."

"That's good...But what about expansion?"

"Huh? What expansion?"

"I mean them taking over other worlds like they wanted to do with Earth. Obviously, they are leaving this planet with you, but who's to say they still aren't taking over planets and making _those _into colonies?"

"But...They know that's wrong! They wouldn't do that anymore!"

"Have they ever _said _they've halted their operations for future colonies? Or are they so focused on Red Diamond that they've just stopped for the moment?"

Steven sat up and the realization dawned on him. He never did ask them just what their plans were with him back in the picture. He wanted to believe they would know right from wrong for themselves, but his brief stint as Pink Diamond made it _very _clear that their morality was extremely different than his.

"I'll… have to ask them later when I get the chance," Steven said, "I mean this is the first time that Gems are changing their tune, right? I mean, we all came so far, but I know we still have a long way to go."

Rose smiled at her son until he suddenly spoke up, "Wait! The fight! I need to talk to the others, I- !"

"Steven, relax! You're here because your body is severely damaged and you need time to repair yourself."

"So…" Steven's eyes widened in realization, "I'm in… in my gem?"

"Exactly. I did say I would always be a part of you… though I never imagined we'd actually meet each other face to face like this…"

With that said, Steven's memory came back to him about his last few minutes in the land of the living. Red Pearl essentially dealt a lethal blow to him, but rather than dying he retreated into his core just as the Crystal Gems do whenever they are too injured.

"But… They need my help! They can't fight a monster like that alone She's gigantic and super strong, but still really smart and who knows what other powers Red Diamond gave her and-?!"

"Steven!" said Rose, raising her voice slightly to get his attention, "You are aware of how long the Crystal Gems have been around, right?"

"Well, yeah, but-"

"And that they've tackled greater threats with worse numbers, right?"

"Sure-"

"And you have complete faith in their abilities that no matter what they face, they'll make it through alright?"

Steven remained quiet for a little while before Rose summoned a guitar, a massive fluorescent pink one that was far taller than Steven, out of the aether.

"Now then, how'd that song about the Crystal Gems you made go again?"

Steven giggled and laughed along with his mother.

"You know how to play the guitar?" he asked.

"Greg taught me a little, but I'm horribly out of practice. Plus, we've got lots of time to kill."

Steven had warm laughter fill the empty space. The two eventually began to sing...

* * *

Meanwhile in the real world…

The Gems were back in the temple. Right now they were all in shock, standing around the island in the beach house, staring at a gemstone…

_Steven's_ gemstone.

Garnet was taking it the best of the bunch, staring at the rock like it would disappear from her gaze if she took her eyes off it for even a second. Deep down, she was wrestling with whether or not she made the right decisions. Going so far as to question whether or not it was a wise idea to bring Steven into the Crystal Gems to begin with, it took all of her focus to avoid splitting up and creating yet another problem for her team.

Pearl, to put it bluntly, was a total wreck. The swordswoman was long gone, crying her eyes out and shouting Gem-obscenities at every conceivable thing she could think of. Red Diamond, her accursed Pearl, her own incompetence, the forest where Steven crashed, the other Diamonds for not stepping in, even the other Crystal Gems for not preventing this whole debacle. None of them took any offense to her words, though, since they all knew it was just her expressing her guilt. Deep down, the Gem was simply praying for Steven to make it through alright and swearing she would break that experiment of Red Diamond's she called a Pearl.

Jasper was not faring better, she was _enraged_… And very much so. At _herself_. Right now, she was mentally beating herself up at how she froze in fear for a split-second at her opponent. To think that a top-tier warrior like her would ever cower in the face of an opponent spat in the face of everything she ever believed in! And on top of that, the sight of her 'new' Diamond's gemstone rubbed further salt into the wound. There was no mistaking a stone of that cut, but deep down it irked her to know that Steven and Pink Diamond truly were one in the same. A part of her was honestly hoping the whole thing was an elaborate lie, but now she had no choice but to accept the truth.

Lapis Lazuli was fighting the urge to run outside and fly away. Given how long it took for her to finally accept her place as a Crystal Gem, the aquatic woman was now deeply regretting her life choices once again. Her newfound love of the planet and her care for Steven fought with that same sickening desire to flee for her life and further fueled her self-loathing that had been a problem for her for the longest time.

Bismuth started the operation thinking it was a success since she managed to find her friends Biggs and Snowflake beforehand. Just as Jasper predicted, they got ambushed by Red Diamond's spies in town and were thankfully unharmed when she came to find them. When she came back with the good news, she was instead told that Steven almost bit the dust and their enemy wanted to use her friend as a personal guinea pig for genetic experiments. Needless to say, she was planning to spend the rest of the night hammering steel in order to both release her anger and get cracking on fighting this insane monarch.

Peridot was horrified by the sight, yet also intrigued on a scientific level. Her natural inquisitiveness was fascinated by the properties of Steven's gem and given the fact that he was a completely unique specimen, she could relate with Red Diamond's desires to test his capabilities. That same link, however, also terrified her as she would never take her pursuits to such an unethical degree. It revolted her in every conceivable way to see how far this Gem was willing to go for knowledge, but she knew how to make those feelings productive. She would soon get to work on tinkering with whatever she could get her hands on in order to build new gadgets in order to ensure this would _never _happen again.

However, _none _of them we're prepared to face the true horror that awaited them…

"Guys! What happened!? Where's Steven!?"

… Explaining it to Greg.

Steven's father had burst through the temple house door, with Connie walking right behind him. The two were miles away in the city, evacuating all the civilians while the Gems were fighting Red Diamond's forces. Once they got back, they received a call from Lars that Steven had been returned home.

The assembly of Gems stared at the two, completely unsure of what to say. Even Pearl stopped her blubbering when she saw the duo.

"Guys, Lars wouldn't say what happened when we talked to him! What's going on?" asked Connie frantically, noticing the dead silence of the room. Garnet and Lapis wordlessly moved aside to reveal Steven's gestone sitting on a pillow on the kitchen island, on top of a small outfit set; Steven's everyday outfit. They both were confused by the sight, only for them both to grasp the truth at the same time. Both of them suddenly felt the urge to throw up not long after.

"That…" eked Connie, "That...That isn't…"

"It is. Trust me, I was there," assured Garnet.

Greg managed to move his foot an inch, the room so quiet every creak of the floorboards could be heard. He took each step slowly, as if barely aware of what he was doing, until he was right in front of the large pink stone. He then reached out and touched it, his eyes finally unable to stop the tears from flowing out and down his face.

"Steven…" he whispered as he picked the stone up and hugged it as more waterworks streamed out, "My baby boy...I'm sorry…"

The others all stared at him, but none dared to interrupt for several minutes. Greg paid them no mind as he devolved into complete hysteria, sobbing his heart out while begging for his only child to live. To see such a normally laid-back and optimistic man break down like this made the Gems feel even worse. Eventually, though, Garnet found the nerve to speak up.

"He will live, I assure you. He'll need a while to recover, but after that he should reform."

While this did assuage the man's worst fears, Greg was still visibly destroyed by what happened.

"Any idea how long it will take?" asked Connie, hoping for anything to brighten the mood.

"No idea. This...has never happened before."

"OH REALLY?!" shouted Greg, suddenly incensed beyond belief, "And what happens when he comes back?! That Diamond is going to keep doing this until she catches him! How did this happen!?"

While the newer Crystal Gems were mildly disturbed, those who knew Greg were flabbergasted. It was a rare sight to hear the man raise his voice or even show any negativity at all. To see him snap like this was something none of them could have imagined.

Jasper, being among the more naive members of the group, did not care for his attitude and snapped back.

"Oh, like this is _our _fault?! We risked all of our necks to get him back from that abomination Red Diamond calls a servant! I don't need some organic telling me how to do my job!"

Greg then stood up and placed Steven's gem back on the pillow and started walking towards Jasper until they were inches apart.

"Oh sure, and you did _great _keeping him safe! For all we know, he might be like this for _years!_ He's a perfectly sweet, innocent child whose practically in a coma right now! Heck, how'd you like it if someone you cared about was all but dead?!"

Jasper, for once, did not have a retort. Greg, however, still had plenty of fire left.

"Oh wait, that's right, you Gems are disposable! If one of you dies, you'll just make another one good as new! But the problem is STEVEN ISN'T LIKE THAT! He's a one-of-a-kind who has done _nothing _but try to do the right thing for fourteen years and _this _is what he gets?! You call yourself a fighter?! Make sure he stays in one piece next time!"

"Greg, calm down," advised Garnet, "I'm sure Steven will survive this-"

"Really! Then why didn't you stop this from happening in the first place?!"

"Greg…"

"All Rose ever wanted for him was to be a normal kid! Now he may just spend the rest of his life stuck as lifeless rock!"

Pearl then stood up, marched over to the fuming father, and slapped him across the face.

"_Shut. Up!_"

"Pearl!" exclaimed Garnet.

"How dare you! How dare you think you're the only one in pain over this?! I'm the one who found him like this. _I _had to carry him home like this, having to hide it from all the other Crystal Gems in order to make sure they didn't panic. You may be his father, but Steven's been my responsibility for almost as long. I watched him grow up from an innocent little kid into a boy who had to shoulder so many problems! I know for a _fact _that this isn't what Rose wanted, but it's what _he _wanted."

"You mean to put himself in danger?!" asked a clearly irritated Greg.

"I mean he wanted to _protect us!_ All he's ever dreamed about since he was two is fighting with us to make sure Earth is safe! He would beg me to let him come along on missions for so long…"

"And now this is what happens to him?!"

"Oh, pardon me, Mr. Ambitious! Would you prefer he spend his times running a car wash barely scraping by and-"

"GUYS!" shouted Connie, looking ready to tackle both of them, "STOP IT! This isn't what Steven would want!"

The entire assembly stared at her, even the feuding Greg and Pearl.

"Do you really think this is what Steven wants to see? His entire family and all his friends going at each other playing the blame game? I may not be his parent, but I can tell you that's wrong! He'd be here trying to cheer you up, get you back on your feet, and start looking for ways to get better! He did his darndest today, just like he does every single day since I met him! Steven Universe is a lot of things, but he isn't a quitter or someone who throws around accusations like this! Even when he does get down on himself, he bounces back knowing the people who love him are there for him. He may be just a rock right now, but he still needs you."

All of them gawked at her, the youngest girl in the room, and yet somehow she managed to be the most mature of them all. As her eyes resettled on the lifeless stone that was her best friend, though, her own composure started to break.

"Just like I need him...And I know...That standing here screaming at each other...Won't fix anything…"

With every statement she said, she got closer and closer until she herself was right next to the diamond.

"I have to believe...He'll be back...Or else I...I…"

"Connie, go ahead and say it," encouraged Pearl.

"I CAN'T LIVE WITHOUT HIM!" she screamed as she fell apart, revealing the scared young girl underneath the maturity she displayed so often. Despite all her resolve and intelligence, she was still a thirteen-year-old who almost lost her closest friend. Pearl, however, did not mind as simply placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Connie, I swear we'll protect him. Red Diamond will _never _get near him again. We will do everything in our power to keep him here until he wakes up."

* * *

Little did they know Steven was actually having the time of his life with his mother. The uncanny ability to summon objects out of thin air meant that the two now had plenty of opportunities to catch up on fourteen missed years of mother-son bonding.

"That was so much fun!" The young hybrid said to Rose as they finished playing volleyball on a pink-sand beach. The mother saw the carefree look in her son's eyes, and her heart just melted right there.

"Oh, Steven, it's so wonderful to finally get to know you! I always assumed I would just be watching you grow up in here."

"Well, better late than never!" Steven said happily.

Then, he had a thought, "Hey, mom."

"Hm?" Rose looked at her son.

"If you yourself or able to patch things up with the other Diamonds," Steven began, "Would you have taken that chance?"

"..."

"Uh, Mom? You okay?"

"I...would."

"You don't sound like it."

"..."

"Why not?"

"I never said I wouldn't."

"Yeah, you did, but you seem really afraid to say it. Why?"

"Because it's not an easy thing to admit."

"Admit what?"

"For the longest time...I was convinced the others didn't care. About me, what I wanted, or what I was supposed to be doing for Homeworld. _I _wasn't even sure what I was made for, but I knew they wouldn't help me figure it out."

"Whoa…" said Steven, never imagining how cut up she would be.

"But now...I can see how wrong I was. The whole reason they sent that light was to avenge my 'death.' Blue especially looked like she would never get over it and Yellow apparently hated herself all this time because of what happened. Even White, deep down, wanted me back…

Steven looked downtrodden at his mother's response. He then thought about it for a second, then spoke.

"I think they'd all love to know you're still alive. I mean, sure things got rough, but what family doesn't have that?"

"Family?" asked Rose.

"Yeah, they're your family! You said so yourself, they all cared about you, but they just didn't know the right way to show it. They all wanted the best for you and appreciated you for bringing some joy into their lives. Even White Diamond looked forward to how you could bring something different, maybe because she was so strict everywhere else! You may not have been what they wanted then, but now I know they'd want to give you a second chance. Plus, now you could be with Black Diamond and have a big brother looking out for you!"

Rose then closed her eyes as she took in his words, clearly moved by his sentiment, until her entire form began to glow. For only the second time, Steven saw her gemstone reposition itself to reveal the full diamond as a much different form appeared from it. When the light faded, Steven was face to face with his mother's long-thought dead alter ego Pink Diamond.

"... Thank you Steven," Rose, no, Pink told her son, "I needed to hear that."

"... Anytime," Steven said with his face neutral, but clearly amazed to see his mother like this, "I mean… we both still have a lot of growing up to do, right?"

Pink nodded, then she seemed to have a thought, saying, "Oh Steven, that reminds me! I know of how you tried to stretch yourself on your birthday to look older."

This made Steven blush with embarrassment, "Oh… heh-heh… you know about that…."

Pink simply giggled lightly, "Well I have something to give you, so to speak. Think of it, as my own late birthday present to you."

"Really?! What is it? A spaceship? I hope it's a spaceship!"

Pink giggled at her son's energetic behavior, "No-no nothing like that. But, trust me, you'll know what it is when you wake up from your gem."

She gave her son a hug, a warm happy hug that only a mother would ever know how to give her son.

Steven felt happy, contempt, at peace with that hug. Safe, in his mother's arms…

"Steven," Pink said, "It's time to go… everyone's waiting for you."

"Huh? Go? But I feel like I just got here!"

"Trust me, I'm sure this won't be the only time we meet.

"Okay...I love you, Mom."

"I love you too, Steven. Now get ready, it's time to wake up."

* * *

Meanwhile, in reality…

Time seemed to slow to a crawl without Steven around. Whether it was constantly dodging questions from the throngs of Crystal Gems wondering where the boy had gone off to, the tendency of any of the gems, his father and Connie to check up on his gem multiple times a day, or even how there seemed to be something missing from the space. Without Steven's vivacious energy and endless goofiness, the temple and the new community surrounding it felt less like a home and more like a ghost town despite the high population.

The sun had begun to rise on the horizon. The Crystal Gems, or at least the core members, alongside Greg and Connie were still inside the temple. They didn't get that much sleep. Out of the sheer terror that came from what's happened to Steven. That and the possibility that he might return to physical form at any moment. His gem sat there, placed on his pillow where it was laid along with a small set of Steven's clothes, his normal outfit.

"Man, this is taking forever! Does it really take us this long to regenerate?!" groaned Amethyst as the seconds ticked on.

"Remember that not only is Steven only a Half-Gem, but he's also never done this before," reminded Pearl, "For all we know, he could be like this for months…"

"Then can we set up, like, some kinda spy camera so we can watch him on our phones? Then we can just see him wake up from wherever!"

"You know, that's not a bad idea," mused Greg.

"I'm staying because I want to see him okay! And I know you guys all do to!" shouted Connie louder than she intended. Out of all of them, she seemed to be taking the loss the hardest given that she even slept over at the temple to ensure she saw the exact moment he returned.

Suddenly Lapis spoke, "Guys…"

Everyone turned and saw her point in the direction of Steven's gem, their eyes widened in surprise…

… Steven's gem had begun to glow…

"AAAAH! IT'S HAPPENING!" screamed Pearl, completely unable to contain her excitement. For once, no one bothered to reign her in as the others all watched in amazement as the stone was lifted off its pedestal as a blinding light took shape around it. Steven's clothes began to float alongside it, as if the entity inside were trying to get dressed. A mass of light appeared underneath the clothes, taking the familiar shape of Steven, something everyone easy relieved to see…

However, that ended pretty quickly and the mass of light was still getting bigger, taller for one thing.

"Uh, guys? Is this normal?" wondered Greg with some concern.

"No… But neither is he…" said Garnet, barely understanding what she was seeing herself. As they all continued watching, the clothes forming around appeared too small for his new form, as the said form was beginning to stretch the fabric slightly. Then the form widened a bit more as well, getting more athletic, for lack of a better word. Within a few seconds, the sleeves began to tear alongside what looked like broad shoulders…

Everyone watching was now in a bizarre mixture of absolute shock at this growth spurt, but also with a bit of joyous hope that Steven was coming back, just fine. Or, at least, relatively fine.

Finally, after a full minute, the light faded away as the figure slowly descended to the floor.

By the time the light faded there stood someone, possibly in his mid-to-late teens, who looked very familiar to them. This young man had his eyes closed, then he gave off a weak yawn, stretching a bit as if he woke up from a deep sleep. He then opened his eyes…

"Ugh… … huh?" He then sees the other Gems, "Guys…"

Everyone looked in shock at the sound of that voice. It was deep, but otherwise very familiar.

Pearl was the first to speak, "Ste-ven?"

She looked in doubt, until the figure tried to rush over to her, only to wince a bit. "Man, I feel weird like everything was thrown around an-"

He stopped mid-sentence, after looking down at himself, and was now in shock. Then he began to react, "Wha-What the… ?"

Slowly, he made his way to a nearby mirror stand and saw his reflection.

Steven was much taller now, around Pearl's height. He also looked more fit and strong, his build slightly bigger than that of an pro-swimmer. His clothes were now too small on his ripped frame. His face looked different too as while his nose was still the same only the tip was similar to Pink Diamond's nose. His jaw was as strong as his dad's but his chin ended with a slight point, just like Pink's. Lastly, his hair was different too. It was still in its shade of dark brown, almost black. However, it was slightly longer, and now it started straight, like his dad's, but becoming wavy almost immediately, forming curls akin to Rose's hair. Lastly, while his gym was still in the same position, it was angled very differently. It was now in the same angle it was for his mother; the upside-down diamond angle. His friendly eyes stayed completely the same. "Whoa... " he said to himself, "So this is what she meant."

Steven then turned to see the others, staring at him in shock.

"Guys?" he said, "...Guys, it's me… Steven." Everyone was speechless. Then Connie walked up to him. She looked at him for a few seconds… she made eye contact during this time, though she had to look up to do so. Even still, tears welled in her eyes and she gave the young man a big and sudden hug. "Steven!" she yelled, "You're okay!"

"Yeah...I guess I am!" he chuckled, having to force down remarking how weird it was that he was now far taller than the friend he used to be at eye-level with. His new size became even more apparent when his father approached him and he could look him in the eye for the first time.

Instead of focusing on that, though, the father merely embraced Steven in his arms and wept in relief that he was whole once again. The Crystal Gems shared the same sentiment as they all piled on one by one until the teen was surrounded by his family, all of them clearly ecstatic for his sudden recovery.

"Wait a minute! I just noticed something!" exclaimed Peridot, breaking up the emotional scene.

"What is it?" asked Lapis.

"STEVEN HAS A NECK!"

And sure enough, the group all stared as they realized his neck was far more pronounced than it was with his more childlike body. They all laughed at her outburst, content with the new changes as long as it meant Steven Universe was around once more.

"Wow," Greg said as he then placed his hand top his head, then slid it over to Steven's own head to compare heights, "Talk about having a kid who grew overnight!"

The boy could only chuckle and blush, not used to having his appearance garner so much attention. As his eyes wandered, he noticed Jasper, of all Gems, sitting on the ledge overlooking the main room of the temple.

"She's been rather adamant about seeing you," said Garnet, clearly amused as the orange gem moved down the stairs until she was only a foot away from him. She seemed to mostly be staring at his more muscular physique, almost as if intrigued by how he suddenly seemed much more imposing.

"I still don't get whatever you are," admitted the bulky bruiser, "But at least now you don't look so helpless."

"Uhhhh, thanks?" replied Steven, clearly unsure how to take her words.

"Oh come on! Can't you just be happy Steven's alright?" admonished Lapis, "We all know you were worried about him!"

"Shut it! The only reason I'm here for this is that the war machine dragged me here! Now that this whole mess has been solved, I'm going outside!"

"Wait, Jasper, before you go…" said Steven.

"What?"

"I wanted to say thanks."

"...Huh? For what?"

"You may not act like it, but you really helped me out back in Red Diamond's ship. I'm not sure what would've happened without you there to help protect me. It's nice to know that, even if you can still be really mean, you still try to help."

He then reached out his hand, hoping Jasper would take it. Instead, though, she simply stared at it until it crossed her mind that Steven was being chummy with her. She did not take kindly to that thought.

"Alright, enough with the sappiness! I'm _not _your friend, I'm _not _your helper, and I am definitely _not _going to stoop to your level! I'm the best Gem to come out of this accursed planet that you seem to love so much, and sure that means I can thrash any weakling in front of me, but that doesn't mean anything to me! The only reason I helped you was because these clods would never let me hear the end of it if something bad happened to their precious Steven! And the only reason I'll _keep _helping you is because I _hate_ that Red Diamond and her abomination of a Pearl even more than you! So keep the warm fuzzies to yourself from now on!"

Then she stormed out, steaming a bit. "Huh," said Lapis in her deadpan tone.

Steven simply gave a small smile on her direction, "She'll like it here on Earth. Eventually…"


	8. Chapter 8

Hey everyone! I hope you are excited about this chapter like I AM! Milo and I were able to pour a LOT into this chapter, no joke. That's something, considering that this is mostly a fluff chapter. But still, you'll want to read it. Anyway, here a reply to the sole review from the last chapter: OMAC001: Don't worry, Jasper will change for the better, it'll just happen a bit slowly... You'll see. Her character development is honestly a challenge in my mind, a challenge that I hope I will complete. Neat huh, anyway. I hope that you guys will enjoy what I enjoy that... Enjoy the chapter, and as always, please leave a comment! ;-)

* * *

**Chapter 8: Growing Up**

The afternoon was bright and cheery, with not a cloud in sight. The residents of Beach City were resuming business as usual now that the evacuation order had been lifted. The humans were helping the newer Crystal Gems understand how their world works while the Gems were repairing any damage caused by the attack from Red Diamond's forces, which while not much were still much appreciated by the townspeople

* * *

Speaking of Gems, one, in particular, was in the middle of a fierce battle back at home.

"Hgnh, come on...!"

Steven was desperately trying to fit into his old clothes, despite his now much bigger body unable to do so. He tried digging out the loosest piece of clothing he owned besides his baggy pajamas, the button-up shirt he received for his last birthday. While there was some nostalgia to seeing it again, he was now just frustrated at how it refused to cooperate.

Suddenly Greg and Amethyst entered through the door holding a few boxes and _several _shopping bags.

"Hey, Steven," Amethyst called out, "We're home!"

Steven turned to face them, only for them to just stop, and stare... then laugh.

Steven's shirt only went down half-way and the buttons were straining greatly, with the top two unbuttoned. The boy just grimaced, embarrassed at how something so simple became so difficult.

"Schtu-ball, what are you doing?" asked Greg, "Did you honestly expect those to still fit you?"

"Well… yeah… They always did before!"

"Dude, you're like twice your height! Even _I_ know that's not how clothes work!" chuckled Amethyst.

Steven then pouted a bit, "That's not funny."

"Heh-heh, sorry son," Greg said, "But hey we came back with something that could help!"

"Yeah!" Amethyst said, "We went around and people in Beach City asked if there was anything they could do to repay you. So when Greg said he needed to get some new clothes for you, everybody pitched in!"

"Aw, that's so nice of them!" The young man started digging through the bags, looking for something that covered him. He also saw into the boxes too; they were filled with pretty much every article of clothing Greg ever owned in his life, even some of the formal wear that he wore on that trip to Paris. As he dug through the contents, he could not help but wonder what exactly his father dressed like at a younger age. There were one too many jean jackets in the boxes for his liking, but at least it was a start. The bags seemed to fit his style more and with more variety to choose from. He eventually just started laying out outfits all over the floor until inspiration struck. He picked out a white t-shirt with a pink star with a slightly thick, rainbow-colored outline printed on it for an undershirt to go with a pink button-up shirt that was actually the right size for him. For his bottom half, he went with a pair of bright blue, almost cyan-colored, cropped cargo pants and a pair of pale brown sandals that covered the top of his feet, rather than a pair of flip-flops. He grinned as he ran to the bathroom to get dressed and emerged to find Pearl furiously picking up the mess he created.

"Amethyst!" she scolded, "Could you ever be bothered to pick up after yourself?"

"Hey, it really wasn't me this time! Honest!"

"Oh, who did it this time? Bismuth?"

"Pretty sure she's been in her forge all day."

"Uh, guys?" spoke Steven, but he was ignored.

"Wait, don't tell me, Connie is responsible for this, right?" chastised Pearl.

"She's almost as much of a neat freak as you! She spent like ten minutes cleaning up some mustard I spilled one time…"

"Guys!" tried Steven again, but to no avail.

"Because if you don't wipe it up, it makes a stain on the floor!"

"Our floors are wood! And plus, Greg's rich now too!"

"That doesn't make it acceptable to leave a trail of debris wherever you go!"

"Oh yeah? Is it better than alphabetizing your own mental storage space?"

"Excuse me for making sure I know exactly where my cold fusion reactor is!"

"Wait... What?!" asked Greg, shock plastered on his and Amethyst's faces.

"What? I dabble in all kinds of things, and plus Peridot was curious how it worked."

"Okay," Steven said, taking full advantage of the silence that finally filled the room, "We might want to keep an eye on you from now on Pearl." He then laughed warmly.

Everybody looked at his direction and saw Steven, dressed in his new attire.

"Well, well, well! Looking smooth there, sport!" complimented Greg, almost not believing his son was wearing a different getup.

"My, my, Steven! You look quite dapper! I could almost see sending you to school with Connie in that!" added Pearl, clearly pleased.

"And hey, anything is better than that Pink Diamond outfit," remarked Amethyst.

"Yeeeeeah… That look definitely wasn't for me," Steven said sheepishly.

* * *

Now that he was properly clothed, Steven headed outside to find the beach once again bustling with construction as their major addition to the temple was once again underway. Almost the minute he walked outside, he was greeted by dozens of the Crystal Gems who wondered why he had disappeared for quite some time. Needless to say, they were quite surprised to see Steven's appearance change so suddenly. Some, like those who are only recently uncorrupted, we're confused as to Steven's new appearance, even failing to recognize him at first. Most of these Gems were clearly unaware of how humans age. Others who personally knew him, like Bismuth, we're all shocked at Steven's sudden growth spurt as it were.

The first place Steven went to was one of his favorite places in Beach City, the Big Donut. When he got there, he opened the doors to find Lars there. From what Steven heard around town, Lars' parents had convinced him to try and go back to his old job in order to obtain some, if any semblance of a normal life every now and then. It worked since technically Lars never quit, he was kidnapped and thus unable to work for several months. Steven knew that the former mayor, Bill Dewey, still worked there himself as Sadie resigned so she could focus more on her band, Sadie Killer and the Suspects.

Lars, who still retained his more optimistic outlook since returning to Earth, simply stared at Steven in shock at how the boy was now barely shorter than him.

"Hey there, Cap'n Lars! I'll be takin' two chocolate donuts to go!" greeted Steven in an intentionally bad pirate voice.

"Whoa…" Lars said in reaction. However, a part of his head realized that something like this would happen to someone like Steven. It just made more sense to him now, given what he himself went through in the past few months. So instead, he lightly chuckled at Steven's impersonation, immediately recognizing him through it. He then prepared Steven's order, saying, "Here you go, Steven. Gotta ask though, when did you finally start going through puberty?"

"It's a long story…" he replied.

"Oh! A new customer!" spoke the former mayor, Dewey from the back room. He soon walked outside to greet what he thought was a new face. Even after seeing Steven for a few good seconds, he still did not catch on.

"Well, welcome to Big Donut, young man!" greeted Bill as he shook Steven's hand, "You must be one of Lars' classmates!"

"Bill, it's Steven. Steven _Universe_," Lars pointed out, clearly amused by his confusion.

The ex-mayor then looked at the man he was shaking hands with. Then noticed he did resemble a much older version of the kid whose father ran the local car wash.

"C-C-C-Car Wash Kid?" he stuttered, now suddenly nervous.

Steven, being a good sport, merely chuckled and replied. "Hey there, Mayo- I mean, Mister Dewey? How's the weather?"

"... WHAT HAVE THOSE WOMEN BEEN FEEDING YOU?!" he shrieked at the top of his lungs and jumped so high he nearly cleared the counter in one go.

"Well, well-balanced meals mostly, thanks to Pearl, but there's also been a lot of donuts soooo…" he answered honestly as Lars doubled over laughing at the situation.

"Oh… uh… I see… Just… Answer me one thing, please…"

"Yes?"

"You're not… _radioactive_, are you?"

"Well, I do glow occasionally, but that's usually only when I fuse, but-"

"Okay, I think that's enough," interrupted Lars as he pulled Bill away by his shoulders, "Why don't you just go back to doing inventory and I finish everything up here, okay?"

"Y-Y-Y-Y-Yeah… I can do that…"

With that, an incredibly shaky Bill returned to the back room while Lars rang up his donuts and sent him on his way. As Steven left, he could hear Bill freaking out again, shouting about how he thought he had already seen everything when he saw that Lars suddenly became pink.

* * *

After eating his breakfast, along with a donut for a snack, Steven strolled through town happily greeting anyone he passed by. While he received many stares and double-takes from people due to his new appearance, he still received many thanks for the efforts of the Crystal Gems and congratulations on his recovery. Many of them apparently assumed he was either sick or injured, but he felt no need to correct them and just went on his way. By the time he finally reached his destination, he lost count of how many people he met with.

Eventually, he began to hear rock music. He smiled, the melody sounding a bit familiar to him. He followed the sound to an old warehouse that he remembered trying to help his friend, Sour Cream, set up a concert there some time ago.

He wandered inside, and sure enough, Sadie and her band were there, practicing a new song along with their manager...

"Nicely done, kids!" complimented Greg as the sound died down, "Although Jenny, be sure to stay on the downbeat. It lets Buck stay on tempo."

The pizza-worker turned guitarist gave a thumbs-up as the group took five and started to unwind after almost an hour of practice.

Judging from what Steven was looking at, they were all practicing pretty hard with their newest song. Their attention immediately changed, though, when Steven walked in.

"Hey there, young man!" greeted Greg, feigning ignorance, "What brings someone like you to a private rehearsal?"

"Gee, I don't know, middle-aged former rockstar," replied Steven as he played along, "I was just moseying about minding my own business when suddenly I heard someone playing some tunes and so I wandered in!"

"Well, sorry to say, bucko, but this is exclusive for official personnel only! As much as I'd love for you to stay, I'm afraid unless you have a very good reason to be here…"

"Well, maybe you could make an exception for… _your only son?"_

With the punchline dropped, the band, who were watching idly, had caught on. Their jaws dropped in unison and gaped as the father and son laughed at their reaction.

"STEVEN?!" they all gasped.

"Yep!" Steve said in his typical cheerful tone, "It's me!"

Everyone's collective jaw dropped again then and there. Even Buck, who was usually expressionless, save for the occasional faint smile, was clearly in shock at the sight about the guy in front of the band who looked to be _their age…_ !

"Is…" Sadie began in disbelief, "Is that really you…?"

"Yeah! I...uh, guess puberty finally caught up to me?"

"Man, I know I went through some weird stuff when this happened to me but this is nuts!" joked Sour Cream, rolling with the punches once again.

"And he's got new duds!" pointed out Jenny, causing the half-Gem to blush.

"Well...yeah…"

"Plus, he's got a neck," stated Buck, "Cool."

"That's weird, Peri said the same thing…"

"Well, whatever happened, it's great to see you back, Steven!" said Sadie, "I heard from Lars that you got hurt by some crazy Gem, but he wouldn't say how."

"It's a long story, guys, but it's alright now," amended Greg, "Besides, we have a concert in Reefside in four days! We've gotta keep practicing, so why don't we go over the set one more time before we call it a day?"

With one last goodbye, Steven went on his way back towards the town as the band resumed their rehearsal.

* * *

Eventually, Steven made it back into town where he saw another one of his friends, Bismuth.

She seemed to be trying to stop for to reverse-engineer various devices in her room at the temple. Although, knowing her, she would prefer to use her old forge instead. Bismuth saw Steven approach her and was confused for a second until she recognized him. "Oh, uh, Steven! I almost forgot, you look different now!" She then gave out a casual laugh.

"Yeah...So has everyone else I've bumped in to. I guess this is still gonna take some getting used to…"

"I know the feeling. Whenever I reformed, I'd get Gems gawking at my new look for days. Trust me, we'll all get used to it."

Although she probably never actually has anything other than her outfit, or appearance modifiers as it were, change, Steven still appreciated the sentiment, "Thanks. So, what are you doing out here?"

"I've been trying to dabble in technology since it doesn't seem like we need traditional weapons anymore. Peridot was supposed to come with me, but something about that show she's obsessed with came up so now I'm here."

"I can always help you! I'm no tech expert, but I can still point you where to go!"

"Thanks, Steven. Y'know, even with all this new tech, nothing beats an old school sword and shield!" Bismuth then seemed to have a thought, "Hey! I just had an idea! You still have that shield of yours, right?"

"Uh, yeah," Steven looked down at where his gem. It took longer than usual, but his mother's shield came out looking slightly cracked. In several places.

"O-Oh…" Steven said, "I guess Red Pearl really did a number on it…"

"Yikes...That's definitely gonna need to be patched up before you use it again."

"You can fix this, right?"

"Of course! Or…" she then took the shield in her hands and inspected it with a curious eye.

"Or what?"

"... Come with me for a sec? I wanna try something…"

And with that, Bismuth actually led Steven back to the temple and then warped the two of them to her original forge. As the two went inside, Steven's shield still in the blacksmith's hand, he stared at her handiwork while she immediately started pulling out tools and taking measurements. It was not long before Bismuth quickly got his attention.

"I've got it!" she exclaimed, clearly elated, "How'd I never think to do this before?!"

"Do what?"

"Well, I made modifications to Crystal Gem weapons before, but I never thought to try it with Rose's shield! But now, since it needs repairs already, I bet I can make this even better!"

"Whoa, Really!" Steven had stars in his eyes at the thought of his shield getting an epic upgrade.

After that, Bismuth immediately went to work. She began to carefully take some of the ore from the walls around her for materials. After all, why just repair Rose's shield…

When she could remake it into something new.

Bismuth actually sent Steven back home, claiming she would be busy with her newest project. The impressionable young lad, however, was intrigued by how she worked and insisted on staying the whole time. He watched her hands move at lightning speed as she made various parts using the ore and lava and connected them to parts of the shield. It seemed like those parts were being used for more than just a simple shield… Steven was at a loss at what she was doing exactly, but it was still interesting nonetheless.

A few minutes after welding more parts together, she began to hit the still unidentifiable mess and hit it with her hammer hands. She seemed to be both smiling in anticipation, and in deep focus at what she was doing. Then, finally, there was a circular shape that seemed familiar. "Now for one last touch… Steven!" Bismuth called out, "You have the same healing powers that Rose had, right!?"

Steven perked up, saying, "Yeah! Well sort of… I don't have Healing _Tears_ per se… but I do have something like it."  
"Well, place some of it on this piece of work right here!" She pointed to the flat, circular piece of equipment she's been hammering away at for a while… It still didn't really look like anything, but Steven trusted her.

So, he actually took out his hand, making sure to steady his emotions and spat right into it! he proceeded to place his spitty hand onto the object, much to Bismuth's confusion.

Then, a second later, the object began to glow in bright, pink light. "Alright," Bismuth said, she then took the glowing disc and dipped it into the lava pool. Then a second later, she took it right out. It was searing hot from the molten rock, but a few seconds later, the flames died down and went out, revealing the end product…

The shield was now slightly bigger, but only barely just. The vine-like spirals now featured less prominent thorns, similar to Amethyst's whip. Also, there was now a star inside the shield, just underneath the original sigil underneath. The outer edge of the shield seemed to be different, it was dull, yet smooth. Overall the shield looked like it could take a bigger beating than the last one it took and STILL come out intact.

The backside of the shield was no longer curved in relation to the front/face, now it seemed to be curving outward, save for a spot in the middle where the handle would supposedly appear, creating a sort of hollow compartment that seemed to rotate independently from the rest of the shield. Plus… there seemed to be something there, a slit section of some kind…

"Whoa..." Steven said, otherwise speechless.

"Pretty sweet, huh?" Bismuth said, "Here, try it!"

Slowly, Steven took the shield in his hand vanished it back into his gem. He then held out his arm in a defensive manner and summoned the shield again. It felt… right. "Wow," Steven said in awe, "It feels… like it's me. It's awesome!"

"And that's not the only trick it can do," Bismuth said in anticipation, "You see that little slot on the backside?"

"Hm?" Steven indeed saw something just like that, noticing the slit in the backside.

"Try reaching out into it," Bismuth said, "If you feel something, then just pull it out. It should be easy…"

Curious steven followed her instructions, however, just as his other hand was right over it, he saw that he was already grabbing some glowing handle… Filled with anticipation, Steven pulled the unknown object out…

The glowing object eventually materialized further into a familiar shape… The blade was slightly long, about twenty inches, and straight as an arrow. It was colored pale gray with a pink tint to it. Unlike Rose's sword, the tip of this one ended in an outward curved point in the middle, rather than the edge. The handle itself was also unique with a dark-pink guard, and a bright yellow hilt. He immediately recognized it as the shade of yellow from the stat on his old t-shirt. At the bottom was a blooming rose also colored dark pink. Overall, the blade was very different in design from his mother's old sword. It also had the look of being both deadly, and beautiful, kind of like it belonged to a royal knight of the kingdoms of old…

"So…? What do you think?"

The initially speechless Steven slowly looked up to Bismuth… then he said, "This… Is… AMAZING!"

The blacksmith immediately lit up at this. "I figured since the Diamonds broke the old one, you'd need something more your style. No offense, but Rose's sword was _way _too big for you, even now."

She then pointed back to the modified shield. "Plus, now you can have it with you anywhere you go, and it doesn't have a separate scabbard that can get lost."

Steven took another look at the new sword and shield he wielded. They felt amazing, like a natural extension of himself. Experimentally, he began to do a few practice swings with his sword. It felt just right to him, it was neither too light, nor too heavy. "It feels great!" Steven said, "It's almost natural… Like walking or breathing."

"Hey," Bismuth said, "You're welcome and it looks like we're back in Bismuth!" Steven laughed at her running gag of hers before another idea came to her, "Hey, Steven, wanna take that sword for a spin?"

"Well, sure, but there isn't much to use a sword on around here…"

"Oh really? I know a place that could do it!"

* * *

An intrigued Steven followed her back to the warp pad and brought them to a canyon that looked vaguely familiar to him. After a short hike and a climb up a rock wall, made infinitely easier thanks to Steven's floating, they arrived at a cave mostly dominated by a large circular platform raised above the water.

"Hey, I remember this place! This was Mom's armory!" he exclaimed, before confusion took hold of him, "Wait a minute, I thought Pearl was the only one who knew where this was."

"Steven, no offense to her, but who do you think made half of the things in here?"

The boy had to admit that was a valid point as Bismuth stepped up the central console and activated it with a press of her hand. A few seconds later, a large cylindrical robot emerged from the center of the room that Steven remembered very clearly. His body immediately tensed up when he laid eyes on it.

"Ah! Bismuth, what are you doing with that thing?!"

"Relax, it's just one of our old training devices. The Crystal Gems used these all the time to spar."

"Really?! The last one tried blowing me and Connie up along with a good chunk of the town!"

"Huh, guess that one must've been defective…"

Curious, Bismuth approached the stationary robot and opened a panel on the back. After a quick look at the interior, she shut the panel again and faced the still-terrified Steven.

"Well, as far as I can tell, this one's still good. Come on, this can't be any worse than fighting Diamonds, right?"

"Y-Yeah...But…"

"Look, I'll be right here the entire time to make sure nothing goes wrong. Just say you wanna stop, and I'll shut it off before anything bad happens."

Even still, the boy looked hesitant.

It took a few seconds before the boy remembered that he was bigger, now. Physically stronger too. And while that did not give Steven _much_ comfort, it was still good enough, "A-Alright… I'm ready."

Bismuth nodded at the young man, then opened the panel back up. With a few seconds of fanangaling in the back, the sparring robot was activated. Steven immediately brought out his new shield in one hand. The robot quickly locked onto him as a target and glowed red as its cannon began shooting fireballs almost as tall as he was.

His flight response took over quickly, though, as he began running in circles scrambling to avoid the onslaught. Much to his own surprise, he found himself able to dodge everything the device threw at him with relative ease as he either jogged past, jumped over, or just deflected everything with this shield.

The robot decided to change tactics and switch to freezing projectiles, identifying that its target was too fast for a direct offensive. It also began switching cannon and moving from its initial position so it could chase Steven to further hampen his mobility.

"Come on, man! Don't just run from it! You can fight back!" encouraged Bismuth from the sidelines.

Realizing he was not in the mortal danger he feared and encouraged by his friend's words, Steven planted his feet and stared down the attacking drone just as it fired another icy blast at him. He pulled out his new blade and, much like its predecessor, it was able to deflect energy blasts. He sent the ice wave off to his side as he began to charge straight at the drone. Sensing its opponent was on the offensive and how the ice element was ineffective, the machine switched to electricity.

As it sent a blinding yellow ball of lightning his way, Steven merely held his shield upright and took the blast head-on. While he could feel the electricity numb his arm slightly, he was mostly unharmed and continued. Blast after blast zipped past him, but Steven was undeterred and blazed ahead until he was within striking distance.

Steven readied his blade and swung right at the mouth of the front cannon, slicing through the metal as if it were butter. Realizing it had been damaged, the machine flew towards the back wall of the cavern while Bismuth cheered for his success.

The machine's eyes began alternating colors between red, blue and yellow as each of its three cannons glowed a different color. With all of its individual elements failing, it had concluded that only a more randomized attack pattern would work.

The machine then spat out a barrage of energy shots, switching between fire, ice, or electricity all flying in Steven's direction. Steven then held out the shield and expanded it via his powers turning it into a makeshift barrier to weather the barrage. As Bismuth watched with curiosity about what his next move was, Steven placed his blade into the ground and took one massive leap, taking his own shield with him, rising until he nearly touched the cave's ceiling. As he the robot adjusted its aim, Steven shifted the shield back down to its original size and waited for the moment as he slowly descended. Just as the robot launched an electric blast at him, he threw his shield a la a certain comic-book superhero and met the attack head-on. The projectile ricocheted off the shield and sent straight back at the machine, causing it to spark and sputter Seeing an obvious opening, he took this chance. He slammed into the ground, retrieved his sword and swung it directly at the robot with all his might, cleaving the machine in two with one strike!

With the machine lying on the floor as a heap of scrap metal, both Bismuth and Steven himself, were very surprised at his newfound skills.

"Whoa..." Steven said, looking at his hands in near shock.

Bismuth also expressed how surprised and impressed she was,

"Whoa… that was pretty intense. Guess it didn't matter that I forgot to put it on easy mode…"

The boy stared at the bifurcated machine, then down at his unscathed sword. He then broke into an enormous grin and started jumping for joy.

"That. Was. AWESOME! Man, wait until I tell Pearl this, she's gonna flip out! Ooh, maybe she has more secret awesome lairs with stuff like this to blow up!"

"Whoa there, champ!" reminded Bismuth, "As impressive as this was, it's gonna take some time for me to fix this. But I am glad to see I've still got the touch when it comes to making a sword that gets the Bismuth done!"

The boy chuckled at her obvious pun before running up to the gem and giving her a hug. While surprised by the gesture, the blacksmith returned it and then informed to Steven to run home while she got to work repairing the training robot.

* * *

Later, Steven was walking to his dad's car wash, he was shocked at how much time had passed as the colors of sunset began filling the sky. He saw Garnet over there with Greg as the two were trying at a round of tennis.

And as usual, Greg was getting a bit too exhausted, panting as he tried to keep up with Garnet's returns. Despite being only half an hour in, the father was looking like he just finished a marathon.

"C-Cant we… try something… a little more… light?" he wheezed, doubled over as he tried easing the burning in his thighs.

"This IS light!" chuckled Garnet as she held the ball in her hand, "If this was hardcore, we'd need a much bigger court."

"H-H-How big...would that...be?"

"A city block would suffice."

The father suddenly felt much better realizing that the situation could be much worse. Before he could question it too much, he and the fusion noticed Steven watching them.

"Hey there...schtu-ball…How's it...hanging?"

"I hear you've been making quite the impression around town," joked Garnet.

"Yeah, everyone's just happy I'm okay, though," Steven said sheepishly, "Anyway, are you okay, Dad? You look like you're gonna pass out."

"He'll be fine. He's just not used to rich people hobbies."

"H-Hey! I've...gotten there...when it...comes to yoga…" he protested, as much as he could as he poured sweat.

"Doing stretches as you get out of bed doesn't count, Dad! Oh, but Garnet, you've gotta see this!"

Steven revealed his new shield along with the sword it held. While Greg was still preoccupied with his exhaustion, Garnet was visibly impressed.

"Bismuth does it again, I see."

"How did you know?"

Garnet wordlessly summoned her gauntlets along with their brass knuckle attachments.

"Oh yeeeeeeah…"

"You seem excited for more than that, though."

"Yeah!" Steven said, "You know that robot I told you was in mom's old armory, right? Well..."

And with that, Steven launched into a full regaling of his training session with Bismuth involving his new weaponry, and how much easier it was to defeat the robot. Greg was in full disbelief at the whole thing, initially incapable of believing that his son was, capable of inflicting heavy damage on anything bigger than a Cookie Cat.

"Wow there, Steven…" spoke the father, finally having his breath back, "That's...really something."

"Indeed," agreed Garnet, "Those machines were designed to test our best fighters back in the day. The fact that you did it, and completely totaled it without taking a scratch, shows how far you've come."

"Thanks!" he replied, but then noticed his father rubbing his eyes, "Dad? Are you...crying?"

"MY LITTLE BOY IS ALL GROWN UP!" The teary father then grabbed Steven in a massive hug as he let out the age-old pain that comes with parents watching their kids turn into adults. Stevens and smiled awkwardly, before hugging Greg, only to squeeze a bit too tightly and cause him to feel constricted, "Uh… gak. Schtu-ball… a little breathing room?"

"Oops, sorry! Guess I really don't know my own strength…" he tapered off awkwardly, before being interrupted by someone calling his name.

"Steven!" He turned around and saw the familiar shape of Lapis Lazuli flying his direction.

"Lapis? What's up?"

"I've been looking for you for the past hour! Where have you been?"

"Fighting a robot," answered Garnet.

"And yet, that _isn't _the weirdest thing I've heard today," she grumbled, her voice completely flat as she was beside herself.

"Huh? Then what was?" asked Steven.

"Nevermind, it's not important," she waved off, "I was looking for you because Yellow Diamond's Pearl warped in looking for you. Apparently, all the Diamonds heard about what happened and wanna talk about it..."

"Oh man, then I've gotta get home!" Steven then began to run off to the Temple before he was picked up by Lapis, who was effectively giving him a ride. During this time, Steven began to wonder what the Diamonds wanted to see him for...


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9: Learning from Mistakess**

Hi everyone! Sorry for the delay, but M. F. Waters and I both have things to do IRL. But lo and behold, here is the next chapter! Heheh! Anyway… I'm sorry, no responses this time. No one reviewed the last chapter. Pity. Maybe this chapter can change that. Anyway, here you go! Enjoy!

* * *

The four other members of the Diamond Authority were shocked at both Steven's new appearance and the story behind it. Their individual Pearls reflected their mood as all four were completely speechless. While both Yellow and Black Pearl were both struggling to contain their shock, Blue and White Pearl shared a look of worry with their perspective Diamonds.

"Well… At the very least, he's clearly reformed. That's a definite improvement," spoke Blue Diamond, breaking the tension and expressing her relief.

"True enough," agreed Black Diamond, "I suppose we should be grateful his body is capable of regeneration. The worst-case scenario would be that he would be indefinitely comatose."

"But…" muttered Yellow, "I am certain his body did not have the same quantity of mass as it does now. All Gems have a set mass that is impossible to change!"

"Yellow, if Red's monstrosity of a Pearl is anything, it is an example of how such rules can be defied…"

"Uh, My Diamond?" asked Black Pearl, "Would it be-"

"No, Pearl, you cannot get any adjustments to yourself."

"But-"

"And especially _not _the tail. That's simply barbaric."

While his assistant sulked at being shot down so fast, getting a few looks of disgust from the rest of the Diamonds in the process, Steven just observed them talk amongst themselves along with Pearl and a now slightly nervous Peridot.

"This is quite concerning," Blue said, "Red now knows the location of Earth…"

"She clearly thinks of it as her future playground for her experiments," Yellow added.

"So, guys, what are we gonna do?" asked Steven, "Can't you guys just show up with an army and stop Red Diamond?"

"It's not that simple," answered White Diamond, "Red is not purely attacking Earth. She is also disrupting activity in several colonies and outposts in multiple galaxies. From what we've gathered, she's spent ages growing her forces in order to have her own fighting force ready for this. Combine this with her unpredictability along with the unique properties of her experimental Gems and we are facing a threat that could potentially disrupt our entire empire."

"That's the reason we couldn't help you, Steven," admitted Blue, "She was causing chaos somewhere else-"

"-As a diversion to ensure you wouldn't be able to help Steven," finished Pearl, causing the monarch to be agitated.

"Either way, it's apparent that Red is insistent on capturing Steven," stated Black, "Knowing her, she'll stop at next to nothing shy of your demise to achieve it."

Steve's heart went cold upon hearing this, "My… demise… ?"

"Obviously," White began, "She sees you as a potentially vital aspect of her research. This could make you a danger to those around you if you aren't careful."

"White, now's not the time for pessimism," admonished Black, "We are all aware of his attachment to this planet, so suggesting he go into exile is _not _the solution. Trust me, I _know _from personal experience that that won't help him."

Steven was too quick to agree, but the pit in his stomach would not leave.

"Well, if the obvious quandary is his personal safety," offered Peridot, "Why not send some sort of security team or bodyguards to protect him? Or, better yet, patrol the planet with ships in orbit to act as a defensive measure in case Red Diamond comes around again."

"Pearl, take note of this," ordered Yellow Diamond, "I'll need to... consider these for later."

Steven was quick to pick up the negative tone on Yellow's voice. It seems Yellow still remembered what Peridot called her several months ago…

"Is going that far really necessary?" asked Steven.

"I know it seems extreme, but we can't be too careful," said Pearl, trying to comfort him, "Red Diamond is insane in every meaning of the word. There's no telling what she'll resort to in order to get you."

"Steven, I deeply sorry for what happened to you," apologized Blue Diamond, "If it weren't for that riot on Homeworld I would've sent my personal guard to help and-"

"Wait a sec, 'riot?' What riot?" interrupted Steven.

Blue seemed to pause for a moment, clearly hesitant. "Well… It seems your ideals have not quite gone over well with some Gems on Homeworld…"

"That's putting it mildly," said White Diamond, "When we announced that Off-Colors were no longer outcasts to be destroyed, thousands tried rushing the Gems as they were escorted out of their caverns. You may have made a valid point, Steven, but that does not mean everyone will immediately accept them."

The boy looked heartbroken hearing this. To think that some Gems were so set in their ways they would attack innocent Off-Colors just because they were different.

"Worry not, all those who assaulted the Gems and our subordinates at the time have been arrested and are awaiting trial. We have ensured that the judge of said trial will give them a guilty verdict for their crimes," assured Black Diamond.

"And...what's the punishment for being found guilty?"

"Execution, of course," answered Yellow, as if it was the most obvious answer ever given.

"WHAT?! You're gonna shatter them?!"

"Steven, is this not what you wanted?" asked Blue Diamond, "Please don't get upset! We can show more leniency if you want."

"Yes! Please! You shouldn't take Gems' lives just because they made one mistake! Maybe just...give them some time to think about what they did?"

"Steven…" grumbled White, "With all due respect, this is not how things are done with our legal system. There are procedures to follow and, with your long absence, I find your input is unmerited."

"Oh yes, fall back on the whole 'This is how things have _always _been done' excuse," mocked Black, "_Clearly _it has worked wonders for you in the past, so why not perpetuate it even when a better alternative has been presented?"

With that jab at her, White decided she needed a break from their conversation and briefly switched off.

"She'll be back," assured Blue, "Her temper is still leagues above where it was."

Steven, meanwhile, felt unbelievably awkward about the whole affair. It was one thing to just speak to recently-reformed dictators, but suddenly being thrust into a conversation about politics with them? He felt very grateful that neither his father nor the Gems got him involved in Earth politics.

And with that, the mood in the room became more depressed. Steven then spoke up again, this time more hesitant, "C-Could you at least take it easy on them?"

The other two Homeworld Diamonds looked at Steven for a second, then Yellow said, "We'll see what we can do."

This brought _some _hope to the now-teen hybrid. So he decided to change the subject, "So… is there anything that Red might have left behind?"

"Not that we are aware of," replied Yellow.

"Still," Blue added, "It wouldn't hurt to keep an eye open, Steven."

"Trying to follow her travels would be as easy trying to follow a single speck of stardust."

"Well, she has to have some kind of base of operations," spoke Pearl, "She'd need one to conduct those twisted experiments of hers since she strikes as the type to do all of her work personally."

"You're quite right on that one," agreed Black Diamond, "She's an egomaniac of the highest order. She honestly sees herself as some blessing on the universe whose genius is merely ignored by us uninformed peons. The real issue is finding said laboratory since, while conceited to the nth degree, she is also obscenely resourceful."

"Meaning… a cloaking device?" asked Steven.

"Undoubtedly, but for her, that would only be one layer of defense. She's already shown a proficiency for delaying our search for her with diversionary attacks. Not helping our case is that during these attacks, she's been abducting any gem her troops can get their hands on for further research purposes."

"Indeed," added Yellow, "We had to increase all primary security measures at each of the gem colony planets, especially at their Kindergartens."

This filled Steven with some worry until Black spoke up, "However, this will pass in time. We've had threats such as this before and we take every measure we can to ensure the safety of subjects. And you should know that, despite all the turmoil, you have benefitted many lives. Every single Off-Color went from a refugee to a welcomed citizen overnight and every one of them sings praises of the Diamond who allowed them to live a proper life. Steven, we will overcome this and we will continue to implement these changes of yours for a better society."

"He is right, you know," added Yellow with a genuine smile on her face, "I must say, being able to operate with far less scrutiny is refreshing. I can see the difference in the eyes of Gems every day. That underlying fear that we would destroy them for the smallest impurity is gone, and I myself feel like a weight has been lifted from me. That relief is thanks to you, Steven."

"And I can't tell you how much having you around has meant to me," said Blue, clearly trying to rein in her emotions, "I spent so long in mourning that it consumed me. But now, even if Pink Diamond is gone, I know the truth of what happened. You brought me closure and now I can move on. I can finally focus on being the leader I should have been for all these years. Plus, even with all the disputes we have, we all agree that having you in our lives has been a blessing!"

Stevens's heart began to fill with joy from what the diamonds have told him. He smiled and replied, "Thanks, guys. Steven out." And with that, the Diamond Communication channel was closed.

* * *

Steven, however, wanted to make sure that Beach City would stay protected, so he went to visit one of his friends. Someone who was well-versed with suspicions and conspiracies…

After a lengthy walk, Steven arrived at Ronaldo's hideout in the lighthouse. He knocked on the door and was quickly met with an annoyed reply. "What, what is it? What do you want?"

"Ronaldo," Steven called out, "It's me, Steven!"

"Steven… ? No, that's not possible! You don't sound like him!"

"Look, I'll explain later, just please open the door! It's about the attack a while back."

There were a few moments of brief silence then, the door opened slightly. Ronaldo looked out cautiously confused, "Who are you?"

"I told you, it's me, Steven…"

Ronaldo looked at him in disbelief, "Nice try. Tell me something only Steven would know."

"Pearl punched you in the face, back when you thought I was a Sneeple person… thing…"

"… … STEVEN?!"

"Yeah…?"

"Quick, how many canned beans did you eat in the past two weeks?!"

"Huh? None… Look, I needed to talk to you about that-" however, Steven could not finish his sentence as Ronaldo immediately grabbed him and pulled him inside. Once inside Ronaldo began to examine Steven, complete disbelief was written all over his face.

"Well, you don't have any multicolored ooze dripping from anything so that's good, but there's a million things that could have caused this! We'll need to check your bloodstream for magnetic radiation waves, do a thermal scan for any extraterrestrial growth hormones, and most of all, we'll need to examine that neck of yours!"

"Why does everyone keep focusing on that?!" Steven said, now genuinely annoyed.

"Because it's the focal point of your new appearance, so it must be where any parasites are spreading cybernetic components through your body! Don't worry, I've got some buddies online who specialize in this stuff so-"

"Ronaldo! I'm still me, okay? Plus, I can tell you exactly how I got like this."

"Oh really?! Do tell, this could be a featured article on Keep Beach City Weird!"

And so, Steven told an abridged version of his first encounter with Red Diamond and how he ended up poofing thanks to a brutal injury delivered by a mutated Red Pearl. All the while, Ronaldo furiously took notes and even asked some questions in order to get more insight to the story. The boy was not sure if he wanted to be spotlighted on a blog focusing on pseudoscience, but at the very least Ronaldo stopped poking and prodding him.

"... And, that it," Steven concluded.

"Amazing," Ronaldo said, he then, unfortunately, began to examine Steven again, "I suppose your body had to adapt for any future forms of physical confrontation. Especially with the strong athletic build you now possess. It seems that-"

"Ronaldo!" Steven said, interrupting him, "Would you calm down for five minutes?"

Ronaldo simply felt a bit embarrassed. "Thank you. Now, I need your help with something. I need you and your observation skills from here in this lighthouse. I have a feeling that the attack from last night wasn't the last we heard from Red Diamond…"

"OH! I get it! You want more intel in case that alien attacks again!"

"Exactly! Did you see anything suspicious that night?"

"Well, I could tell you, but why do that when I can show you!"

Much to his surprise, Steven soon found himself in front of a laptop surrounded by multiple cameras and recording equipment.

"You mean you have footage of it?!"

"Of course! The whole point of my blog is exposing the truth about the supernatural, and what's more definitive proof than live video!?"

As Steven begin to worry about what someone like this could do with this form of surveillance, Ronaldo quickly got to work finding the recording from the night of the attack. He plugged one of the many digital cameras into his laptop and began searching through the footage for any signs of the bizarre and unearthly. For once, it did not take him long as he soon spotted a red spacecraft hovering over Beach City and detaching a piece of itself from the main body.

"That's it! That must be Red Diamond's ship!" exclaimed Steven, thrilled that his hunch had paid off.

"Definitely not anything I've ever seen before...Although, I personally imagined alien ships to be more streamlined than that thing."

"Did your other cameras pick up anything else?"

"I'll need to do a more extensive search to be sure, but it's going to take some time."

Steven faltered for a second, but was happy nonetheless, "It's okay Ronaldo, it's still good news, thanks!"

Ronaldo proudly smiled as he saw Steven out before getting ready for a long session of extrapolating the truth from his trusty cameras.

* * *

Meanwhile, in an unknown region of space…

Red Diamond, by all accounts, should have been furious. Not only did the irreplaceable Gem-organic hybrid slip away, but it had also resulted in one of her pods being severely damaged and her highest-ranking subordinate being ganged up on by the boy's allies.

Instead, though, the rogue matriarch was as eager as always. To lesser minds, these may have been setbacks, but to her enlightened self, this was merely a sign. A learning experience from which she could improve herself and grow even stronger. If her pod's defense systems were insufficient, they could be shored up. If Red Pearl's augmentations were not up to snuff, they could be improved upon. And, if those Crystal Gems went to such lengths to retrieve him, she knew they valued him greatly. All the more reason to continue her work for the sake of Gem-kind!

There was one person, however, who was far less optimistic. Red Pearl considered herself an utter failure and at one point even contemplated leaving the warp stream to float around in space. What good was a servant who failed to do as explicitly told? When she arrived back on the Diamond's personal frigate, though, she was surprised to find her master was as content as could be.

Even still, a wave of self-loathing would overcome the Pearl and she would wonder what she could possibly do to redeem herself. As she accompanied her Diamond one of the cell-blocks, she decided to address the topic directly.

"My Diamond," she asked tentatively, "I am aware that you claimed that my...failure was not a setback but-"

"You still doubt yourself, correct?" replied the Diamond.

"Y-Yes, exactly. Now, I never doubt your intellect, but even with your reassurance I can't shake this sense of inadequacy."

"Pearl…What have I told you about science? Where does it lead?"

"Well, there is no set endpoint, My Diamond. It's a never-ending stream of discoveries that ultimately keeps going no matter how long you work at it."

"Precisely. Now, you know I take great care in the work I do with improving Gems..."

She gestured to the cells around her, showing the wide variety of modifications she gave to her subjects.

"What do all of these Gems have in common, Pearl?"

"They've all been made better by your work?"

"Flattering, maybe, but incorrect. They are all _different_, Pearl. Some much closer than others, but even two of my Spinels have something that sets them apart. And my past experiments were different still, although much less refined as a whole."

"So...What you're saying is that there are _always_ new discoveries to be made?"

"Absolutely! If I were to stop my work every time I hit a setback, I wouldn't have found ways to alter minds or give Gems extra limbs or even create several of them from the ground up! But even still, I know there is no endpoint. There will always be some greater achievement to be had, some new innovation that can be found. To others it is a futile effort, but why not see the lengths you can reach as an ageless being?"

The Pearl was moved to tears by her master's words. "Your devotion is incredible, My Diamond! And soon, your labor will change the universe!"

"Yes it will, Pearl. Now then, are you ready to be worked on yourself? I have already devised several ways to enhance your power further so that Steven's comrades will be no match for you."

"Of course, My Diamond! Your modifications are like miracles!"

The Diamond smiled, though not nearly as earnestly as her right hand-Gem. While her faith in her was comforting, it was to be expected out of a Gem she made with the sole purpose being her undying servant. If she was ever truly shattered, she had hundreds of them prepared to replace her. The most wonderful part was they were so subservient and so devout in their service to her was even if they learned this fact, they would still consider her a goddess brought to life. Just another reminder of her brilliance.

* * *

Back on Earth, after the meeting with the Diamond Authority, Steven was at one of the shorelines at the city with Connie sitting by his side. Periodically, she would keep glancing at Steven, as if to check if he was still there, or more likely, if it really was still him. Steven noticed this and gave her an awkward look that clearly said _why?_

"Sorry," Connie said, picking up his expression, "It's just, this new body you have, it's gonna take some getting used to."

Steven laughed softly, "I guess you're right, I did a training session with Bismuth earlier. Hey, do you remember that berserk gem robot we faced a while back?"

"How could I forget? That thing trashed the movie theater and nearly blasted us to bits!"

"Yeah, well your not gonna believe this…"

Steven then gleefully retold the recent battle he had against what he now knew was a Crystal Gem training device. Her jaw dropped as he recounted how he swallowed his fear and literally cut the robot clean in two with a single strike.

"Whoa…" Connie said, otherwise speechless.

"I know, right?" Steven said, placing a hand on his flexed bicep, "I feel like I don't know my own strength now."

While she was clearly impressed, he could see her head start to dip in sadness.

"What's up? I'm totally fine, see?"

"Yeah, and I'm grateful for that but… How did this all happen?"

"What do you mean?"

"It feels like just yesterday we just met. You were some goofy kid on a bike who lived in beach house, I was some reclusive girl who spent all day reading books. Now we've been to space, faced evil over and over again, and now hearing all this seems completely normal. Where did the time go?"

Steven realized she had a point. They could not have met more than a year or two ago and yet their entire world was completely different.

"And now… I can't help but feel like I've fallen behind…" continued Connie.

"What?! That's not true! You've had more sword training than me! You're still way smarter than me! And-"

"I'm the one who had to be rescued from Aquamarine and Topaz. I'm the one who got you in trouble with the Diamonds at that stupid party. And there's no way I could've stopped something like that robot by myself. Face it, Steven, you've just surpassed me."

The boy refused to take her self-loathing sitting down, though and took her by the hand. He motioned her to look upwards at the ocean sky.

"Somewhere out there, Red Diamond's after me. If it weren't for Garnet, Lapis, and Jasper, I'd probably be in some lab right now."

"Steven, I don't want to think about that…"

"Neither do I, but this is important! Right now, I need everyone I can to help make sure she gets stopped and that _includes you_. Maybe you haven't gotten a chance yet, but I know you'll be a major help against whatever freaky Gem she sends next! You didn't let the Diamonds scare you, right? So why should one more be a problem for the amazing Connie Mahesweran!?"

Connie took a moment to realize something, Steven was right! She stood up to her mother to give her some space, she took charge when it came to sword training, she even argued against the Diamonds _alongside _Steven! She may be fully human, but when did that ever stop her?

"Thanks, Steven," she said as she hugged him, "It is still weird to hear your new voice, though. You sound like my big brother or something!

"Hey," Steven said nonchalantly, "That's just what friends do," he nudged her shoulder, "right?"

The two shared a warm laugh at this. Suddenly, Connie's smartwatch beeped, "Oh no! I'm gonna be late! Still gotta be there for dinner tonight!"

"Hey, some things never change, right?"

"Very funny, growth-spurt-boy! Kick some more robot butt, got it?"

"Yes, ma'am!" Steven gave her a mock salute as she ran off. Once she was out of sight, he looked at his own much thicker hands and made them into fists. He stared into the blue abyss above him, almost daring for Red Diamond to show her next trick so he could one-up her…

* * *

Later, he then decided to check on his father again. Now that the man was not in the middle of a band rehearsal, he figured his father would appreciate the company. Strangely enough, when Steven arrived at the car wash and, therefore at Greg's van, Lion was there as well. He was taking a nap there, rather than his usual spot up around the lighthouse.

"Hey there, big boy!" greeted Greg as he emerged from inside the car wash, "Come to collect your pet?"

"I wasn't planning on it, I mean he's usually just wherever."

"Yeah, but I guess he finally wanted some bonding time with me! Isn't that right, Lion?"

The massive feline merely opened a single eye to look at him, then looked away from him. Instead he stood up and faced Steven.

"Uh…" Steven said, "Hey big guy… it's me. I had a growth spurt!"

Lion merely circled him, his legs tensed as if he would pounce at any moment. Steven raised his hands in a non-threatening gesture, but that still did not put him at ease.

"Come on Lion, don't be like that! I don't have any Lion Lickers with me, but you can trust me!"

Hearing the name of his favorite snack caught his attention. The teenager quickly picked up on it.

"Yeah, and I know how you used to sleep on my face all the time too! We even went to the moon together, buddy! And besides, where else would I keep all my emergency snacks?"

That seemed to finally be enough to please the pink lion. He strode up to Steven in a rare display of open affection and allowed his much-older looking companion to pet him. After only a second of hesitation, Steven did so. Lion then seems to smile comforted by the fact that it really was his human friend.

"Yeah!" Steven said, elated, "It's nice to see you too!"

Greg looked at this scene and said, "Man… that cat's never gonna like me, is he?"

"Oh come on, Dad, Lion's never been super cuddly. He's just happy to do his own thing."

And with that bit, Lion resumed his usual lazy expression as he flopped back onto the ground to resume his fourteenth nap of the day.

"And for him, doing his own thing is being a big lazy butt!" scolded Steven in a mockingly fussy tone, "Get up, young man, it's not even six o'clock yet!"

Lion just yawned in his face and tried to tune out his chatter.

"If only he were active that video you posted of him fitting into different boxes, huh sport?" Greg said.

"Yeah," Steven said, "Or those neat videos about people dancing with pets-" suddenly, a light bulb went off in Steven's head, "That's it!" Steven then immediately took out his phone and opened up a music playlist. He picked the most toe-tapping dance track he could find and as it began to play, he took Lion by his front paws and started to sway to the beat. The feline looked only vaguely aware of what was happening while Greg thought the whole show was hilarious. He went back inside the car wash to retrieve his phone so he could record the moment and show it to the Crystal Gems later.

As he went away, Steven continued his little jig and with some of his superhuman strength, he actually succeeded in getting Lion up on his hind legs. His pet, however, looked about ready to roll his eyes out of his skull from the sheer apathy for the whole situation.

His attention was piqued, though, when Steven's gemstone began to glow with a familiar pink light. The boy was too engrossed in his fun to notice though. Then, before long, a blinding flash slowly consumed them both until even the two in question could no longer see each other...

Greg then returned his smartphone in hand, only to be stunned by the sight in front of him.

Instead of either Steven or Lion, there stood a massive eight-foot-tall humanoid form with a massive plume of wild pink hair. The clothes that once belonged to Steven were clearly strained to contain his muscular body. His arms were almost as thick as Steven's torso and his legs looked animalistic and prime to run a marathon and keep going. A tail flicked about behind him, only barely showing given the gigantic coif. The most curious part, however, was that his hands and feet resembled more dexterous paws complete with claws extending out of each digit. The face was also an anomaly as while it was still mostly humanoid, the nose was bright purple and his mouth was filled with sharp teeth like a predator. His eyes were firmly fixed at his hands, wide-eyed in shock and awe…

As was Greg, who dropped the phone in stunned shock…


	10. Chapter 10

Hello Everyone! As usual, I will be replying to reviews before we actually start the chapter, so here:

OMAC001: I know, right!? He may not be the only prominent fusion in the story though... (playful smile)

whateverman53: Yeah, Milo F. Waters and I DO have this Idea to make Jasper this story's equivalent to Vegeta from the DragonBall franchise. So yeah. There will be a moment where she mellows out for a bit, so keep an eye out for it.

Everyone, please leave more reviews because I like replying to each of these. Now, onto the chapter itself.

**Chapter 10: Walk on the Wild Side**

Greg Universe just stood there in shock, having dropped his phone at the sight of the lion man... thing that may or may not have been his son.

The thing in question was looking at its body in surprise, gradually making its way down towards the familiar gemstone in its naval. With that in sight, the pieces suddenly fell into place for this new character.

"Whoa…" it spoke in a startlingly deep voice.

"S-Steven? Is that you?" asked a still-shaken Greg as he slowly approached the creature, having to crane his neck up to make eye contact.

"... … Dad?" It said.

There was an awkward pause… then Greg began to freak out. Seeing his son fuse with his best friend was one thing, but this was finally too much for him to handle. As his breaths grew shorter, his vision began to blur until a thought entered his mind… the cat fingers…

He screamed for a second, then stumbled over the massive hose sitting by the wall of the car wash and turned the water on, dousing the feline humanoid. He could not even make out the weak protests of his target until he finally switched the deluge off.

Alas, much to his horror, the lion-man was still standing in front of him with the only difference being his head of hair was now a neon-pink sheet and an indignant squirt of water from his mouth.

"Uh, Dad? I don't think this is my shapeshifting…"

Greg then looked embarrassed as he realized his son was in full control. He laughed nervously before saying, "Sorry, Steven, I… kinda though the cat fingers finally took over or something."

Steven then began to shake the water off of his new mane, even getting down on all fours. Once he was dried off, he stood on his legs again truly took in what he was now.

"This feels… really weird," he commented, "It's almost like it's mostly still me but…"

"Well, you've never fused with an animal before so that sounds about right, I guess? I'm really lost on this one, sport."

Steven then suddenly realized what his father just said... He immediately looked himself over again as if to confirm it. "I… I fused with Lion… I _fused…_ with _Lion_… I definitely need the Gems' help with this!"

With that mission in mind, he turned around and began dashing down the street at a breakneck pace. However, after just a few feet, he then tripped and fell down!

Greg, alarmed, ran to his son, "Steven! Are you okay?"

Slowly, Steven got up, "Y-Yeah, I think so… I… this is _definitely _not a regular fusion…" Indeed, it was Steven in full control instead of some combination of him and Lion. However, the second he thought of Lion, he could feel something in his mind. It was not a distinct voice, but instead a subtle nudge to try walking differently. Deciding that he had nothing to lose, he lowered his front half to the ground and walked on all fours. At first he struggled to make any major progress like this, but he soon found it much easier to move. Before long, he got the hang of it and became pretty fun to him. Steven began to run at full speed when he then got another nudge in his mind. He then lept and then landed elegantly on his legs, and began to run slowly on just two feet. It was definitely easier now! "Whoa!" Steven said, stars in his eyes, "This is so awesome!"

He soon forgot completely about any of the trepidation he once had as he alternated between two and four legs, switching between them at a whim and leaping at a moment's notice. At his highest, he managed to get several hundred feet above the ground without using his floating powers. He treated the entire thing like a game, pushing himself harder and higher as if nothing could bring him down. All this time, Greg just looked on at this new fusion of his son, still surprised at what was happening before his eyes.

"Uh, sport? Weren't you gonna, you know, tell the Gems about this?" He asked awkwardly.

In some slight realization, Steven then cheerfully said, "Oh yeah! Sorry, Dad, I guess I just forgot for a second there," He then ran on all fours to the temple, saying, "Wait till they get a load of me!"

* * *

Needless to say, Pearl, Amethyst, and Garnet each had different reactions when they saw this new fusion of Steven and Lion, with Greg having just barely followed him via the van. Garnet was grinning broadly, internally screaming with joy at another fusion barrier broken with this amalgamation of a boy and his animal companion. Pearl was about as conflicted as could possibly be, split half and half between impressed and disturbed. Amethyst, meanwhile, was just chuckling to herself. Apparently she had a running bet going with Peridot over whether Steven would fuse with Lion first or one of the Diamonds. And now, thanks to this new fusion, Peri owed her a candy bar. "So…" he said, "Whaddaya think!?"

"Ehhhhhhhhhhh…" moaned Pearl, still stuck on what to say.

"Dude, you look like a professional wrestler. And it is AWESOME!" said Amethyst before running outside so she could collect her prize, much to Greg's confusion.

Shortly afterwards, Amethyst came back dragging not only Peridot, but Lapis and Bismuth as well.

"Ummm, did we miss something?" asked a very confused Lapis.

"Wait, don't tell me-" moaned Peridot before Amethyst wrapped an arm around her shoulder and squeezed her.

"That's right! Steven and Lion fused! Now pay up!"

The green tech-nut walked off to go spend part of the money Greg gave her to get her ante, muttering under her breath all the way, while the other two newcomers continued to stare at the new fusion. While Lapis was still trying to wrap her head around what happened, Bismuth just looked mildly amused at the whole thing.

"You know, it says something about my life that this doesn't surprise me."

"It doesn't?!" remarked Pearl.

"Nah," Bismuth remarked, "I mean after Obsidian, it's kinda hard to top that."

"Guess you've gotta point there," admitted Greg, "Frankly, the only thing more surprising would be if Garnet split up."

The fusion just flashed her dual wedding rings in Greg's direction and he flinched. She might as well have shoved them in his face, "S-Sorry, Garnet. It's just that… well pretty much everyone in this family's fused with Steven by this point. Everyone except me…"

"Well," Amethyst piped up, "You haven't been exactly enthusiastic about the idea ever since that night with Rose…"

"Okay, that's enough!" shouted Pearl as she ran up to the fused Steven, noticing how she was now several heads shorter than him, "Steven, I understand it's interesting to try new things, but don't you think you've been like this long enough?"

"Oh come on, Pearl, don't stress about it," he protested, "Weren't you excited the first time you fused with someone?"

"Well, yes, but, it's just…"

"Pearl, I get it. It's hard seeing Steven grow up like this, but he's still the same," advised Garnet.

"Yeah, he just might need to clean himself with his tongue! What isn't cool about that?!" remarked Amethyst.

That clearly didn't ease Pearl's concerns as she shuddered at that mental image. The fusion however, just laughed at that, until, "Wait, I just realized something." Everyone looked at him, "I still need a name for this fusion!"

"Well, what do you think is right?" asked Bismuth.

He began to ponder for a few seconds until that same subtle nudge popped in is head again. Just then, the name came to him. "Nekoite!"

"Whatever works for you, man," shrugged Lapis, coming to grips that this was simply yet another anomaly in her new life.

"Now Steven, you've matured a great deal since we last had this talk with Stevonnie," said Garnet, her old enthusiasm returning, "You know that fusion is no small thing. In the right hands, it can be the most wonderful thing you can experience. In the wrong hands…"

She simply turned and looked at Lapis, who merely cringed. It was painfully obvious _which _fusion they were referring to…

Steven, or rather, Nekoite realised this and said, "Right… I understand. Thank you Garnet. And don't worry, if things go wrong, I'll have you guys to bail me out, right?"

"Well then, go get 'em tiger!" joked Amethyst as she happily munched on the candy, including the wrapper, she just received from Peridot who had made it back just in time to see that cat man leap outside.

* * *

Unbeknownst to all of the Gems and human observing Nekoite's first appearance, there was another, watching every move with bated breath.

"Incredible!" swooned Red Diamond, "He's already shown the capabilities of fusing with organic matter completely on his own! I thought that I would need to modify his genetic code before such a feat could be done, but with this…? The sheer possibilities are endless!"

Red Pearl stood calmly at her side, smiling almost blankly, she then said, "Indeed, my Diamond, the hybrid never ceases to amaze."

"It's almost a shame the other Diamonds can't witness this. Of course, they'd probably be demanding him to change back instantly, convinced his abilities are a curse. If only they could see things my way…"

"Someday, My Diamond, you will enlighten them," reassured her Pearl, "And then we will have our empire fully united once again."

"Yes. I'll make them understand...My thoughts are not delusions, but prophecies! I am destined to revolutionize all Gems into the perfect species."

Red Diamond then opened the core database of her screen, scrolling through the innumerable stock of experiments on board. She then abruptly stopped when she saw a certain file pertaining to one of her more… useful experiments. A predator, a true hunter on the prowl… "She's perfect…" Red said in anticipation, looking back at the image of Nekoite, "Let's see how well she performs against this newest _prey_…"

* * *

Nekoite was currently at what used to be the DeMayo Farm. Now, it was fully owned by Peridot and the place was fully changed. The farm now had a residential building that resembled a two-story mansion from the 1920s, only with bits of Gem architecture breaking the illusion. There was also a rebuilt version of the barn, now more steeped in Gem architecture, and three times the size of the old building. The grounds themselves were separated into multiple sections, the largest section was where Peridot and Lapis grew their crops, another section had a garden where guests can mingle, and there was a third, more secluded area where Peridot would run her experiments.

Nekoite was currently at the area trying out his newest form, much to the surprise of Bismuth, who was there making further repairs to the barnhouse. The fusion in question was actually helping her left a few heavy things... quite easily in fact.

Nekoite was currently handling a massive slab of metal to be made into a new set of blast shields for Peri's more explosive tests. Despite the slab being _much _bigger than he was, the fusion handled it as if it weighed nothing. After putting it into position, Nekoite dusted off his hands as Bismuth began taking measurements.

Nekoite looked proud of himself as Bismuth said, "Woo! This is a heavy one!" She then turned to Nekoite and said, "Thanks again for lending a hand… or paw..."

Nekoite just chuckled at that. "Yeah, it's kind of both. You're welcome either way, though."

"So, what's your instincts telling you to do now?"

"Don't really know… Maybe nap? At least then I'd know why Lion does it, i dunno, thirty times a day!"

As the two laughed off his remark, they noticed one of the last Gems they expected to see - Jasper. She was standing by herself on the outskirts of the new abode, any of the few Gems hanging around being sure to give her a wide berth.

"What the heck is she doing here?" asked Bismuth.

"Maybe she's finally learned how to calm down?" offered Nekoite. The blacksmith did not buy his answer, though and went over to her.

The corrupted Gem quickly spotted the oncoming Bismuth and rolled her eyes. "What do you want?"

"Just curious what someone like you is doing here."

"What? Do I have to let you all know everywhere I go? Isn't the whole 'Crystal Gem' schtick supposed to be about freedom?" she snarked.

"Maybe, but so far you aren't what I call a Crystal Gem. Last I checked, you still have a serious attitude problem."

"What, saving that brat from that freak of a Pearl wasn't enough for you?! What, you want me wear some stupid uniform like the rest of you?"

Bismuth took offense to that and quickly got inches away from Jasper's face. "Watch your mouth, clod, or I'll make sure you don't have any teeth."

"Oh, some fancy builder is gonna tell me what to do?" shouted Jasper right back, "Why don't you prove it?!"

"Guys, knock it off!" shouted Nekoite in the distance. He strode up towards them, much to Jasper's surprise.

"What the heck is that thing?!" She even leapt backwards several feet.

"Chill out, it's just Steven," said Bismuth, "He fused with Lion earlier today and-"

"What?! That's disgusting!"

"Hey, that's not nice…" moaned Nekoite.

"I mean, fusing with other Gems is one thing, but this?! This is-"

"I said…" growled Nekoite, almost literally as he took Bismuth's place in Jasper's face, "That's. Not. Nice. Take it back."

"Oh, really?" scoffed Jasper, "You think some fluffy freakshow intimidates me?! Make me take it back!"

And then, much to both Gems' shock, Nekoite obliged with an uppercut straight to Jasper's jaw. The animal-based fusion had this almost aggressive, no-nonsense look on his face. He clearly had the guts to back up his words.

Jasper was knocked back by the hit. Her jaw throbbed greatly. If she was an ordinary human, she would have lost a tooth from that one punch.

Needless to say, Jasper was more than a little upset at this, "OKAY, THAT'S IT!"

She summoned her crash helmet and beelined straight for Nekoite. Rather than back down, the fusion met her charge head-on. This also meant he left his midsection wide open for Jasper to headbutt him several feet away.

"Knock it off, you two!" reprimanded Bismuth, "The last thing we need is you two trying to maul each other!"

The dreadlocked Gem was completely ignored, though, as both of the fighters were putting their pride above their logic. This also proved that Nekoite was vastly different from Steven in some ways. The teenager would have done everything in his power to _avoid_ fighting like this, but Nekoite actually looked primed for a fight. Even now, he had a slight smirk on his face, implying he was enjoying this.

He and Jasper began circling each other, both of them eyeing each other up and trying to detect the slightest sign of an attack. Then they both stopped and met in another clash, Nekoite literally bringing out his claws for added effect. He managed to catch her off-guard with a slash to her arm which made her stop and wince.

Jasper did not back down, though, and instead swept Nekoite's legs out from under him. He fell over, giving her enough of an opening to deal a brutal blow to him via headbutt that knocked the wind out of him. "Come on!" Jasper said with a wicked smirk on her face, "Is that the best you can do!?"

Nekoite growled angrily at this, and slowly got up… his gemstone began to glow and he then conjured his shield, only it seemed to change shape almost immediately after he summoned it. It was now shaped like a two-dimensional diamond, with a wide blade pointing out, split into three, resembling a claw. He had a bladed shield now! Nekoite then summoned ANOTHER bladed shield out for combat.

"Not. Even. CLOSE!" He almost literally roared. He then blazed right at her, his new weapons at the ready, and all but ran Jasper over. The orange brawler was sent flying from the hit, but she barely had a chance to recover as Nekoite dashed towards her on all fours and spiked her into the ground with a downward swipe. Jasper, however, quickly got back up from the slam and caught his next charge with her hands. The two were deadlocked as their muscles tried to overpower each other.

"Heh, at least now I finally found a good workout," boasted Jasper as she started inching forward.

"Yeah? Well maybe it's time I stop playing around!"

Instead of pushing against her, Nekoite suddenly flung her around several times in a circle until letting her fly into the air. The feline-man then let out a massive roar causing a blinding bright portal to appear in front of him which he leapt into with his bladed shields drawn. As Jasper flew through the air, she saw another portal opened nearby, and was shocked, intimidated even. She then instantly braced herself as she knew what was coming.

Nekoite emerged, ready to strike her down, and primed to strike where she would have no way to defend herself. Instead, he got a surprise of his own as Jasper leaned her body all the way back until she was upside-down and planted a kick right in his face just as he slammed his shields into her. A small crater was formed in the ground from the impact.

Thankfully, their clash took them several hundred feet away from the new barn and into the acres surrounding the property. Bismuth heard the explosive sound of their latest set of blows and ran up to find both opponents lodged a foot in the ground from each other's blows. Both of them were also still rather dazed from that last impact.

"Well? You both done?" asked Bismuth, "Or do I need to clear the area for round two?"

Just then, Nekoite was consumed a pink light and finally split back into Steven and Lion.

"No, we're done," assured Steven, "Maybe forever…"

"Huh? What's gotten into you?"

Steven paused, then he replied, fully reacting, "I can't believe I actually did that! I just got so carried away that I actually attacked someone! And… And I _liked_ it, too!"

"Steven, it wasn't all you…"

"Yeah, but it was mostly me! I could've done something but I didn't! Jasper, I'm really sorry about that, I-"

He was cut off, though, when the orange Gem abruptly started laughing.

"Wha-!?" Steven went, greatly shocked at this reaction, "Jasper, you're… laughing!?"

"What's so funny?" asked Bismuth.

"You think that fight was a _bad_ thing? That was the first actual fun thing I've done on this planet!"

"HUH?!" gasped Steven, "You... liked that?! Why?"

"Because I like fighting, what other reason is there? That fusion may still be weird, but at least it's an actual challenge." Jasper then smirked, more playfully, "Nekoite is pretty fun to spar with, but don't go blabbing that to everyone! I don't want anyone thinking I'm going soft."

"Uh… Thank you?" Steven said, perplexed, but relieved nonetheless.

"Wait a sec, you call that sparring?!" yelled Bismuth, "You could've seriously hurt him!"

"You don't wanna know how training on Homeworld gets, then, lightweight. In those, the loser doesn't always stay in one piece, they often got poofed. And if you're so worried about someone getting hurt, well don't. It's in the past now."

Bismuth took a second to reflect on this then nodded, though still unsure of Jasper's words. Then again, she understood as she went through similar sparring sessions during the initial days of the Crystal Gems' rebellion against Homeworld. "I guess you've got a point there… Wait a second, who's a lightweight?!"

"You. Unless you want to prove me wrong?"

Before she could explode, though, Bismuth got a hold of her temper and forced it back down. She then glared at Jasper and muttered. "I don't feel like it."

"Yeah, that's what I thought. At least that Nekoite can actually stand up for himself. If any of you want a real challenge, talk to me. I'm out of here."

Jasper then strolled past them, knocking into Bismuth's shoulder along the way, until she was out of sight.

"Did… Jasper and I just... become _friends_?" asked a very confused Steven.

"Don't think so, but at least she doesn't hate you anymore. That counts for something," Bismuth said, before she then added, "Although, I'm pretty sure she could use a serious attitude adjustment. I mean, seriously, she has _fun_ on a _battlefield_? I mean I kinda relate to that but-"

However at that point, Steven wasn't listening to her. He was now looking at Lion who nudged next to him and then layed down, napping. Steven was still working the cogs in his mind, thinking, _Jasper and I… just bonded…_ He then looked at Lion again and began to think of how amazing it was to be Nekoite, having all that power, feeling Lion's instincts within him... and grinned; he knew _exactly_ how to befriend Jasper now…

* * *

It was later that night, past midnight even. Steven was lying in bed. He had just been listening to details on a set of blueprints with ideas the Gems had in mind for upgrades to the house. He came to like the idea of having his own full bedroom, especially considering that Pearl had regained her uncanny hobby of watching him as he slept.

"_Would you get out!?" Steven yelled the night before when this happened, as Pearl ran out of sight, "It's even creepier now that I'm older!"_

However, he could not sleep tonight, as he kept thinking of his time as Nekoite. It felt… wonderful. Feeling so strong as if nothing could hurt him. It was primal and… _nice_.

Then there was Jasper, that was pretty much the first time she actually smiled genuinely. It may have lasted only a minute, but Steven, no, _Nekoite_ got through to her…

Steven slowly snuck out of the beach house, grateful that no one noticed him. He snuck out and saw that Lion was there lazing on the patio. Outside, and awake for once, just staring at the ocean. "Hey Lion," Steven said, greeting the large feline, "How'd you feel about fusing?"

The pink beast seemed to merely lay his head down, at ease as always.

"Guess that means you were cool with it… Never knew you were so competitive."

Steven let himself rest on Lion's mane, thinking over the situation. "Then again, it was pretty awesome, wasn't it? I mean, Nekoite was amazing! We were really strong, we were tough, and… it just felt… _amazing_… y'know?"

Lion yawned amicably. While to most this would seem innocuous, Steven took it as a definite yes. While a segment of his mind would always hold on to the belief that violence was not the answer, he had to admit it benefitted him this time. He had a potential new fusion to help him whenever Red Diamond came around again, he actually made some progress on getting Jasper out of her shell and he had to admit part of him felt it was exhilarating to be something completely different. Much like that first time he became Stevonnie, there was a certain uneasiness to the new form, but in the end it was a positive experience. "So…" He said in a hesitant voice, "...You wanna go at it again?"

Rather than answer, Lion actually stood up and stared at him. Seeing that he was actually motivated for a change, Steven took his cue and walked down the stairs onto the beach. Instead of following him, Lion remained standing on the patio until Steven moved where he wanted. The feline then leapt into the air, clearly expecting Steven to follow. The boy then propelled himself with a jump of his own, heading right towards his animal companion in mid-air. Instead of colliding into each other, though, they were consumed by a flash of pink light. Then… Nekoite landed on the ground. He opened his eyes, then had a big smile on his face."Alright, it worked!"

His cheer did not last long, however, as his instincts perked up. A subtle warning in the back of his head that danger was nearby. Somehow, he knew that something was amiss… He smelled the air and sensed something that should _not_ be there. He growled aggressively, then said, "Who's there!?"

Then suddenly, he jumped out of the way of… something… striking the spot where he was just a second ago! He landed just a few feet away, growling at the aforementioned spot and at the creature that was now there.

The creature was a Gem, he could spot the polished black stone on the back of the base of her neck, but it was clear this was no ordinary Gem. Her eyes were yellow with black, slit pupils, her "clothing" was actually fur throughout her body and nothing else, and her hands and feet both ended in massive claws. Rather than speak, this new Gem snarled at Nekoite as she started circling the fusion.

"Who are you?" Nekoite asked with an intimidating tone, an easy feet with his deep voice.

The gem creature merely growled, then proceeded to pounce on the feline fusion, her claws poised to rip his eyes out. Nekoite was barely able to grab on to the clawed hand as it was _inches_ away from his face. He then slowly managed to throw her aside. He stood up, fully aware of one thing.

This creature was a _threat_. It wanted to _kill him_…

He then bared his fangs, ready to fight back in any way he could. "Alright," he said, menacingly, summoning his twin tri-bladed shields, "Bring it, dog-breath!"

He then rushed at the creature, who immediately dodged his strike only do headbutt him in the stomach. This made him reel back for a moment, but he recovered quickly, then leapt up in the air, opening a portal as he did so and going through it.  
The lupine Gem, however, was not amused as she started looking every which way for the potential assault. When Nekoite tried the same trick as he did with Jasper, appearing right behind her, she caught on quickly and leapt out of the way.

She then seemed to melt into the dark, becoming what seemed to be a sentient shadow! She then seemed to rush at Nekoite at breakneck speed!

She turned tangible again seconds before crashing into him, sending both of them rolling through the sand. When the canine Gem landed on top, she tried to bite into his face only to be kicked several feet away.

"Okay...This is getting weird…" groaned Nekoite to no one in particular as he already saw the new Gem getting back up. Fighting a werewolf-Gem… thingy was one problem, but one that could basically make herself impossible to hit? Something told him brute force alone was not going to be the answer here. Nekoite then saw the shadow rush at him. However, he noticed that she was turning back into solid mass…

Taking advantage of this, and knowing that he only had a few seconds, the fusion then swiped a decisive slash at the Gem-creature. She yowled in pain as the bladed barricade stung her form. Rather than changing into shadow again, she took off down the sand away from the temple. As she passed by the houses lining the way, however, she was stopped by a very irate Bismuth literally busting down a door and tackling her to the ground.

"I leave you alone for five minutes and you're already in another fight?!" laughed Bismuth as she struggled to contain the feral Gem, "Do you go around asking for trouble?"

"Hey, this one was an accident!" scoffed Nekoite, "But be careful, she can turn into, I dunno, shadow and-"

The lupine Gem took that as her cue to show her signature ability and phased right out of Bismuth's hands.

"One of Red Diamond's?"

"Yep."

"Great. Guess I know what I'm doing tonight…"

The creature then appeared before them in solid mass again. She showed her teeth and snarled menacingly at them. Nekoite growled right back at her, almost roaring. It looked less like two aliens fighting and more like two predators settling who would be the alpha of the pack…

Before the brawl could start, however, something truly unexpected happened. The Gem-creature began to shriek and grab at her head; seeming to be in terrible pain. Then, after a moment of shock and surprise, the creature turned into shadow again, and rushed away from them, fleeing the battle altogether.

The two Crystal Gems then began to chase it, but within seconds, the creature was lost to the nearby woods...  
"What… the heck just happened… ?" Bismuth asked, concerned.

"I… don't know…" Nekoite said, looking in the direction the creature ran to, "But I have a feeling that thing's gonna come back…"

* * *

Meanwhile…

"What!?" Red Pearl said as she watched the experiment flee despite receiving minimal injuries.

"Hmmm...That's quite the drawback," observed Red Diamond, curious as ever.

"What could be causing this, My Diamond?"

"The most likely theory would simply be she is unstable. Her composition is unbalanced and thus, while her physical makeup is fully undamaged, she suffers from these unexpected bouts of intense internal pain. Perhaps it is due to overexertion, which means she will need more physical conditioning, or it could simply be she need adjusting on a molecular level." She paused before proceeding, "Either way, she's on her way back here."

"Back here, my Diamond?"

"But of course, she needs to be checked up upon. Besides… I believe that she would have lost the fight regardless…"

Red Diamond then smirked to herself, "I suppose I'll need to provide a few enhancements to my little hunter. And when I'm done, this new fusion will be no match for her at all…"


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11: Cats and Dogs**

It was the day after the midnight attack by Red Diamond's wolf-creature… thing. Steven was currently at the beach, enjoying himself.

Or rather, Nekoite was anyway.

The lion fusion was currently running around, experimenting with his powers. Just recently, he found that he could use his claws to scale walls and similar surfaces, something neither Steven nor Lion alone could claim to do. "This. Is. AWESOME!" Nekoite cheered with excitement as he was practicing his newfound climbing skills, making liberal use of the massive cliffside near the temple.

His climbing, however, attracted the attention of Pearl.

"Steven?! Have you been fused all night?!"

"Yeah! Don't worry, though, I made sure to take breaks!"

Pearl chuckled, clearly uncomfortable with the situation. "Um, that's great to hear Ste- Nekoite, but could you please come down?"

He acquiesced, but not by simply climbing down. Instead, he launched himself off the rock wall with a mighty kick and let himself fly for several feet over the ocean. Pearl watched in horror, terrified for his safety until he suddenly vanished into a portal and then reappeared out of another one a few feet from her.

"Pretty cool, right? Now I know why Lion uses these to get around all the time!"

"Riiiiiiight…"

"What's wrong, Pearl," asked the cat-man, "Did something else happen?"

"No, nothing of note...Wait, something 'else?'"

"Well, yeah, there was that freaky Gem from last night.

"W-What?! One of Red Diamond's experiments?!"

Nekoite nodded and gave the summarized version of last night's attack. While he assured the situation was dealt with and there was no major damage done, Pearl was pacing up a storm after he was done talking.

"That's..." Pearl was slightly torn in two at the moment. On one hand, this new Gem monster could have easily done Nekoite in, but on the other hand, she was equally surprised at how Red Diamond was already making more bold moves against them.

"...Weird?" he offered.

"Alarming, more like. It seems like she's trying to have a tad more subterfuge this time, but even still this is brash."

"Yeah, but she wasn't anything I couldn't handle!" boasted the fusion, much to Pearl's ire.

"That's beside the point, _Nekoite_. You would do well to never underestimate your opponent."

"What's the problem? I was careful, I did my best, but in the end, she ran away because of some major headache."

"Exactly! She was clearly restrained by some condition and was not fighting at her full potential. Who knows what could have happened if she was at full strength?"

Nekoite seemed to think for a second, then he said, "Alright, I see your point, but you don't need to worry!" He then had a playful, confident smirk on his face, "If she tries to show up again, I'll be ready for her! Heh-Heh-Heh!"

Rather than defuse the situation, though, that made Pearl stop dead in her tracks and glared at him.

"Oh, well I'm so glad you can make light of the situation! Heaven knows you need MORE danger in your life!"

"Pearl, what's the matter? You're getting really worked up now…"

"The problem is _you!_ You think you're completely invincible because of that fusion of yours, even when you could have been one step away from dying!"

Nekoite did not take kindly to that suggestion. "I said it wasn't a problem! Besides, Bismuth was there to help with her so-"

"So what?! I am living proof that numbers mean nothing in the face of superior strength and strategy. The Crystal Gems were outnumbered by Homeworld by such a margin even I can't contemplate and yet all those Gems are dead and here I am!"

Hurt, Nekoite argued back, "You don't think I know that!? Pearl, even as just Steven, I'm not exactly a kid anymore, and I'm not just talking about my growth spurt. I _know _the risks! And I know how to watch my own back, okay!?"

Pearl was too flustered with how quickly Nekoite was able to argue back. Calming herself down a bit, she then replied, "I'm sorry. I just worry for you, y'know. Especially considering how you're acting now."

"Huh?"

"Well…" Pearl began, "How do I put this… You're… a bit more… arrogant than normal."  
"Wait, what!?"

"I think this fusion is a great capability, but… maybe you're overdoing it a bit?"  
"Hey," Nekoite said, "I can unfuse at _any time_! I just… don't want to right now, that's all."

"Oh, really?" asked Pearl, unconvinced.

"Yeah!"

"I've heard that exact same line from Sugilite. And you _know _what handful she is…"

That got under his. "Hey! I am NOTHING like Sugilite! Alright!? I- Gaaaargh!"

Nekoite then stormed off, using a portal to pop out of sight before Pearl could catch up to him.

"Oh Steven," Pearl said, "I'm worried that you could end up doing something you might regret…"

* * *

Nekoite was now at the strawberry battlefield of all places. The sweet smell of the wild strawberries growing around him helped calm him down a little. He was currently staring up at the sky, munching on a large strawberry. "Man," Nekoite said to himself, "Why can't Pearl just be happy for me? I mean, I'm getting the hang of this whole thing, right?"

He then felt an internal nudge, giving him some form of assurance. "Heh," he said, looking at his gem for a few seconds, "I guess she does have a point. But… she didn't have to overreact!"

He then laid back down, and yawned, annoyed at what had just happened minutes before. He then slowly closed his eyes, and began to snore.

Meanwhile, at the temple, Pearl was talking to Garnet, voicing her concern about Steven's behaviour as Nekoite.

"...And you should've heard the attitude he had! He sounded like every angsty teenager, whining about how 'I just don't understand!' as if I've never had any experience with fusion!"

"He's just overexcited is all," assured Garnet, "Like with Stevonnie, he'll get his feet under him and know when to call it off."

"But what if he doesn't? What if his newfound ego gets the better of him and he does something really idiotic?"

"Thinking like that gets you nowhere. What matters isn't what could go wrong, but what he did right. Bismuth talked to me about it last night and she made it sound like he had a good handle on the situation."

"I guess so… But the way he just ran off was so… immature!"

"You know it happens to the best of us. At least he and Lion are honest with each other…"

Pearl was unsure what she was referring to until the memory of Sardonyx and the Gem Communication Hub fiasco came to mind. The Gem all but deflated remembering the incident and had to admit she had a point.

"Now then, I'm gonna go check out Peridot and Lapis' new place. You're welcome to come with me if you want."

"Um.. sure…" Pearl said, following Garnet to the warp pad.

* * *

Later, Nekoite was at the outskirts of Beach City, back to his usual carefree self. He was currently having fun, weaving in and out of the woods and testing his agility. However, in all his excitement he ended up colliding with someone and fell in a heap on the leafy forest floor.

It turned out to be, of all things, Black Pearl.

"OOOOOOOOOOOH! A sphinx!" he screamed excitedly while hopping from foot to foot, "And My Diamond tried saying you were only a myth, but wait until he sees you! Oh, do you happen to any gorgons, centaurs, minotaurs, crocodile spirits, Daleks or anyone from this weird place I heard of called Nebraska?"

Nekoite, trying to sort out the jumble of words, just blinked. "Um, Nebraska's real so…"

"Oh sure, and next you're going to tell me there _isn't _a land of talking ponies! Please! Now then, would you mind accompanying me to my ship? I just can't wait until Black Diamond sees this and-"

"Actually, I'm Nekoite. I'm just Steven fused with Lion."

Compared to everyone else, Black Pearl looked disappointed to hear the news. "Oh, so much for proving my point. I suppose I'll have to settle for gnomes instead. But what brings a curious fusion like you out here?"

The feline-human gave a brief rundown of how an accident brought him to life, how he got into a friendly spar with Jasper, the incident with Red Diamond's latest minion and the scuffle he recently had with Pearl.

"Goodness, and here I thought my past few days were busy. Got a lecture from Yellow's Pearl about my 'poor conduct', had a lovely meeting with those Off-Colors and their pink captain, had to spend a few hours tracking some lupine Gem, just now finished dusting the ship-"

"Wait, WHAT?! You saw that wolf-Gem?"

"Wait, you KNOW of it!?" Nekoite was just as shocked.

Black Pearl then had a nervous look on his face, "Well, she had a black Gem, right?"

"Yeah?"

"... It was an Onyx. Onyx Gems were mostly created in Kindergartens authorized by Black Diamond. They were made mostly for reconnaissance, stealth missions and the like. However… Red Diamond wanted to take their purpose further, and make them powerful hunters… But many of them went savage in the process..."

"Yeesh. So, she has more of them?"

"Not sure, honestly. When Black Diamond heard of her intent and caught her modifying them behind his back, he naturally reported it to White Diamond. She responded…by demanding the entire line be harvested."

"You know, Peridot said something like that a long time ago. What does that mean?"

"It essentially the equivalent of recycling...With gemstones in order to regain the raw materials from shattered Gems to be reused later. A rather gruesome process, but many see it as a necessity."

Nekoite could feel his stomach turn hearing that and nervously looked down at his own gem, suddenly dreading the thought that it was made out of _dead_ Gems.

"Oh, you shouldn't have to worry about that! Diamonds are only made from the purest materials, no harvested fragments allowed. It's one of the many steps of quality control."

"Phew...But you said there were more Onyxes?"

"Yes, but they are mostly scattered here and there. There are some back on Homeworld as well. But this one was obviously one of Red's pet projects she smuggled away. A primal hunter, capable of taking down any prey…"

"Then what went wrong?"

"Hm… if I'd have to guess, it might not be able to stand the atmosphere of this planet for too long in its mutated state. However," his tone was truly dark at this point, "I have no doubt that Red will be correcting this error. In fact, she's probably doing it as we speak…"

"Well, whenever it comes back, I'll be ready for it!" assured the fusion cockily, before another thought came to mind.

"Hey, how do you know all of this anyway?"

"Well, needless to say, I've had an exorbitant amount of free time on my hands like My Diamond due to our exile. I've taken many hobbies to pass the time with one of them being cataloging various varieties of Gems."

"Cool, so what do you know about those Spinels that attacked earlier?"

The eccentric Gem looked surprised by that name and began pacing around the trees trying to piece the name together.

"Spinel...Those overly-flexible Gems who impersonated two of your friends?"

"Yeah…"

"I'm certain I've heard the name before, they even resemble what I'm thinking of, but for the Gem in question that should be more or less impossible unless…"

"What? What's so special about it?"

"Spinel was, at first, a literal one-of-a-kind Gem personally commission by White Diamond, one of the last Gems to have that honor."

"Wait, really? Just one at first? Was it some kind of super soldier?"

"Far from it! Spinel was essentially a court jester designed exclusively for Pink Diamond…"

"WAIT, WHAT?!"

"Yes, the first Spinel was created to act as a personal playmate for Pink Diamond during the earlier days of the Diamond Authority. I'm pretty sure THAT Spinel was last seen around 6,000 years ago… Granted, I only know through second hand knowledge since I was made only 100 years ago and my Diamond went into self-exile 8,000 years ago…"

"Let me get this straight," Nekoite said almost growling in disgust, "Red Diamond took a Gem designed to be my Mom's friend, and turned them into her own personal soldiers!?"

"Unfortunately, yes, that appears to be the case. One has to wonder where she got the idea, though, considering…"

He stopped his train of thought when he noticed Nekoite was now storming through the trees, off to who knows where. As he fled, though, Black Pearl had one last request for him.

"Let me know if you meet any accountants! Their work sounds so fascinating!"

* * *

The fusion barely heard him, though, as he plowed back through the trees to let out the aggression in his system. He had, or at least Steven hoped, that maybe he was _finally _done having secrets kept from him. The Gem War, the Diamonds, _Everything_ about his mom, and now some secret Gem he had never heard of? Part of him wanted to confront Pearl directly over all of this, but he decided to reign in it. Instead, he vented his anger by blindly rushing through the forest, leaping several hundred feet with every bound and letting himself wander. Whenever he wanted to return home, he could just pop open a portal and be back at the temple in a few seconds…

Suddenly, Nekoite was his by something strong that knocked him to the ground! When he turned to look behind him, he saw the werewolf Gem, Onyx, readying to claw him in the back!

"Aw great, it's you again," he sighed, "But at least now you don't get to run away!"

The werewolf-like Gem merely growled in response. Nekoite then growled back as if accepting her challenge as he put some distance between his opponent.

The two then began to circle one another, each waiting for the other to make their first move. The scenario was full of tension as the two were about to come to blows. The leaves and branches around them rustled as they stared each other down until Onyx broke the stalemate by running on all fours and lunging for him.

Nekoite then let out a large roar, creating a portal as he ran, then proceeded to run through it. The creature looked around, confused but aware that it's opponent might strike at any moment. Then, lo and behold, the portal appeared again behind the feral Gem and out popped Nekoite, successfully slashing at Onyx's face in the process!

Onyx was barely deterred, though, and quickly recovered from the blow. She actually leaped upwards towards the canopy. Nekoite followed her and suddenly found himself being assaulted as his opponent leapt onto the branch for a split second, slashed at him, then turned to shadow as she leapt away to ensure he could not counterattack. The fusion growled in her direction, summoning his claw-bladed shields, just in case, looking every which way to try to find Onyx's location.

He finally found an opening when he managed to block a slash aimed at his side and then backhanded Onyx hard enough to send her flying through several branches before crashing to the ground. He then proceeded to leap at her, further tackling the hybrid to the ground. Next, he was about to deal a heavy blow to her with one of the blades shields with his own claws for good measure. The feral Gem was just barely able to react and turn into shadow at the last second.

Once she regained her footing, she looked up at the feline fusion...and laughed. Or at least, what Nekoite assumed was as close to laughter as she could get given how she was still growling at him. Then, to really throw his head off, a brief shudder went through Onyx which then caused her to stand up on her back legs!

"What the-?" was as far as he got before she landed a punch straight to his nose.

To make matters worse, Onyx seemed just as relentless as a bipedal form as she just kept launching hits at Nekoite with no room to breathe. It was only when the fusion summoned a full-on bubble around himself that he could finally think straight.

"Okay, this is getting bad...Maybe I should go back to the temple and-"

His thoughts were cut off once again when Onyx, much to his shock, went back on all-fours and ran at him then turned into shadow at the last minute in order to phase _through _the bubble and then socked him with two fists straight to the gut. It was such a surprise that the bubble popped and sent him sprawling until he hit into a tree hard enough to bend the trunk.

Onyx, by contrast, was having the time of her life! A carnal smile was on her face at all times and was delighted to have finally met a worthy match. Her Diamond barely let her out to hunt anymore, but now she had a true challenge of her skills. She was almost saddened to see her prey down for the count. Key word being _almost _since she ran up to him with her claws poised to strike him and end her greatest hunt…

And that was when a new combatant entered the picture by appearing right between the beastly battlers and sending Onyx away with a well-timed punch. When Nekoite finally got his bearings under him, he looked up to notice the lycanthrope snarling as she clutched her bruised face from the sudden blow and saw his savior.

"Black Pearl?!" he shouted, "What the heck are you doing?!"

"Well, I was merely minding my own business when that ghastly Gem attacked. She seemed to be getting the best of you so I decided to step in," answered the servant gem with a grimace on his face.

"W-Where'd you learn to fight?"

"As the only Gem in service to Black Diamond I wear a great deal of hats. That, to my chagrin, includes combat. If you wish to handle this foe yourself, then say the word and I will return to my other duties."

Nekoite looked at him for a second, then at the feral Onyx, then back at Black Pearl, then immediately he said, "Actually, yeah, I could use some help with this one." He hated to admit it, but this was already getting out of hand.

He picked the right time to decide since Onyx was finally back on her feet and charging in for another strike. She once again lunged for Nekoite, but Black Pearl met her again. This time he swept her legs out from under her giving the fusion the perfect opportunity to kick her into the air. He followed her past the trees to spike her back down to Earth, but she turned into shadows before he attacked so his arms phased right through her. What she did not expect was Black Pearl appearing just below her and hooking his legs around her waist and slingshotting her into a tree hard enough to burrow halfway into the oak.

For a brief second, they hoped she was incapacitated, but instead she let out a ferocious roar and started clawing away at the wood like mad until the tree war more or less a tall stump. She looked at her two opponents, now back on the ground, with an evil eye that quickly turned into a smirk. She normally hated having someone interrupt her hunt, but this new Gem was proving just as entertaining.

"Alright…" Black Pearl said, reaching to his now glowing gem, "This may prove a bit difficult." He then began to reach out and grab a gem weapon. It was, of all things, two simple black bracelets that he clasped onto each of his arms. Nekoite just looked confused.

"Wait, that's it?" he asked, clearly expecting something more.

"Just wait, I'm full of surprises," he retorted with a smile. He sounded less like a Gem gearing up for battle and more like someone enjoying a practical joke.

Onyx, however, was getting bored by the interruption and ran straight at them. She sent a lightning-quick kick to Black Pearl's face, but only hit air as he ducked and tried to hit her in the knee. He hit his mark but was surprised by her suddenly dropping back on all fours in order to dodge a swing from Nekoite and chomped onto one of his arms. As he yelped in pain and she clearly enjoyed his suffering, though, Nekoite took the opportunity to grab her by the head and fling her away like a football with the Pearl still caught in her mouth.

"Sorry!" he shouted to his ally, but quickly found that it was unnecessary.

"Wheeeeeee! You really must try this some time!"

Even Onyx looked at him puzzled. She had heard many creatures scream while in her grasp, but they never sounded so...happy about it.

The landing was less joyous, though, as they slammed right through a tree and it promptly fell on top of them. They seemed scuffed up from the blow, but quickly got back up and faced each other. Onyx tried to swipe at him with her claws, but suddenly found something holding her arm back. She tried to push herself forward until Black Pearl chuckled and revealed the bracelet on his right arm.

"My apologies, but it seems I got my one of my garrote wires wrapped around your arm."

She snarled and yowled as she tried to get her arm free, but the strand somehow held tight. She did eventually go forward once Black Pearl yanked his arm backwards and pulled her straight into his own fist. The pain did not stop, however, as the other hand shot out its own wire and wrapped around her midsection. Soon he had her swinging into several of the nearby trees as he flung her around like a ragdoll until both wires suddenly snapped and sent her flying.

"Nekoite! You have a package coming!"

The fusion had been watching the whole fight from twenty feet away and leapt into action as soon he heard him. He charged forward with his bladed shields drawn and smashed her clean over the canopy until she fell with a resounding thud. A few seconds later, the two gems ran to this location, only to find her dark gray gem lying on the ground.

"YES!" Nekoite cheered with all the enthusiasm of a high school jock, vanishing his weapons, "We did it!" He pointed at the Gem and said, "In your face! In your-!" He then noticed Black Pearl giving him a weird stare. "Oh, um… Ahem, good job there… buddy…"

While the servile Gem looked pleased with himself, he also looked down at the lifeless stone with a sense of pity. His garrote bracelets vanished as he moved forward and took hold of the stone.

"Hey, uh, Black Pearl? You okay?" asked Nekoite, "You don't look so happy that we won."

"Hm?" responded the Gem, "Oh, yes, I was caught up in thinking about something else. I can't help but feel some sympathy for this Gem. A strange kinship...After all she was _supposed_ to be a creation of My Diamond. Instead she was warped into...this feral monstrosity."

"Well, yeah, that sucks," admitted the fusion, "But she's still evil. She attacked me twice for nothing!"

"True, that is inexcusable. Violence for the sake of violence is rarely if ever the answer outside of sport. Grudges started, wars waged, lives lost, all because someone thought shoot first, ask questions never. It's a tragic waste."

"Huh?"

"Pardon my soliloquy, but I've been quite touchy about this since my creation."

"Touchy about _what?_ Fighting?"

"Yes, I suppose so. I'm far from the oldest or wisest Gem out there and I'm painfully aware of this fact. Until your arrival on Homeworld, I would've been shunned and abhorred by every Gem in the known universe for my differences. Black Diamond was erased from history, all his subjects shattered, and all because he did not fit the mold of the Diamond Authority. All because those Gems took one look at me or anyone outside the status quo and sought force over reason. I enjoy even the smallest things in this universe, all the minor bits and bobs that seem insignificant to others because there might come a day when that force wins out and I'll be shattered just like so many Off-Colors before me. It's… partially why My Diamond and I were both so eager to meet you-, er-, or rather Steven. The Son of Pink Diamond, the antithesis to the imperialism of Gemkind, and only one who raised his voice instead of his weapons _and won_! I can't tell you how many tried the exact same thing and were blown off the face of the cosmos for it, but not Steven! He triumphed where everyone else failed and for that, I, and countless others, am eternally grateful…"

The rambling Gem once again looked at the stone in his hands before summoning a translucent black bubble around it and sending it back to his ship. He then faced a now thoroughly stunned Nekoite and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Thank you, Steven, for all you've done. You may have needed me today, but with a will and resolve like yours, there truly is no limits to what you can accomplish. Will you need force again? Absolutely, it's a necessity at times and I can even see some of the appeal. Just don't forget, though, that sometimes the _best_ weapon for change can be thoughts and words."

The fusion looked to be in deep thought, even if for just a few seconds. He began to realize that, yes, while he, while _Steven_ was a great fighter, his main strong suit was his desire for _peace_, with as little collateral damage done as possible. It was how he was able to reform the Diamonds and change their minds about their ways.

"Yeah… you're right about that," Nekoite said, "Fighting is more of a last resort." He smiled and said, "I mean I was pretty cool today, but I guess I should settle down for a bit. I'll- I mean, _we'll_ unfuse after a while."

Black Pearl looked at him curiously as he continued, "I mean, it was fun being me, but I think I kinda overstayed my welcome, hehe."

"Well that is entirely your decision, but I do appreciate you taking my words to heart. Whenever that Lion is around again, however, there is one thing I would like to ask."

"Yeah? What is it?"

"Does _he_ know where to find any sphinxes?" he asked with a giddy smile on his face, finally returning to his usual self.

Nekoite then let out a laugh in response, a warm, cheerful laugh…


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12: The Show Goes On

Hello everyone, sorry for the delay, but Milo and I are ready to post this chapter. This might be pretty... bold. So bear with us. ;-)

Oh and to OMAC001, thanks, I'm glad you like Nekoite. I'm proud of that fusion. ;-)

Onto the actual story...

* * *

It has been a week since Nekoite and Black Pearl had defeated Red Diamond's personal hunter, who's gem was now in Garnet's lava room. The gem was brought back by Steven, much to the relief of Pearl, who explained what had happened and apologized for letting his new fusion go to his head. All was quickly forgiven and now the group were curious to investigate Onyx and just what Red Diamond did to her. However, Pearl did keep an eye on Steven whenever he and Lion were in close proximity to each other…

* * *

Currently, Steven was walking towards the Big Donut when he saw Lars leaving the store. Instead of the Big Donut's signature T-Shirt, which was part of the uniform, Lars was wearing a plum-colored T-shirt and a black jacket tied around his wait. It was also odd, since Steven knew Lars' shift didn't end for another hour.

As he kept walking, Lars noticed him, "Oh, hey Steven!"

"Hi Lars!" Steven said, "What's up?"

Lars had a wide grin on his face, as if he had something exciting to say, "Today's the big day, Steven! I just sent my resignation form!"

"Wait, what!?" Steven asked in shock, "You quit your job!? But… you can't do that… unless.." Steven's face then went from shock to excitement, "You mean- !?"

"Yup!" Lars said with enthusiasm, "My parents and I finally found a place to rent out! I can finally start setting up my own bakery!"

Ever since he arrived back on Earth, Lars essentially made it his mission to be able to open up his own bakery in town. His parents, blown away by their son's newfound drive and optimism, put everything they had into finding a location and helping to finance the business. They even invested Lars' college fund, but that may have been due to the obvious fact that the teenager had no interest in more school after a makeshift graduation.

"Lars!" Steven said with excitement, "This is exciting news!"

"I know, right!? Anyway, it's a block from the boardwalk, wanna take a look?"

"Sure!"

* * *

He followed Lars towards his new location and was shocked to find the place was already fully decorated. Past the glass doors leading inside, the floors were a classic checkerboard pattern with simple tables topped with lavender tablecloths and white stools for seating. The front counter ran the entire length of the room, still waiting to be filled with desserts. A chalkboard ran the length of one wall which was going to be the menu with Lars' mother already writing it down. Outside, there was also a pair of small tables underneath white-and-blue patio umbrellas for outdoor dining. It clearly still had a ways to go, but Steven could already feel the clean yet simple vibe the bakery would have once it was fully opened.

"So…?" Lars said, smirking, "Whaddaya think?"

Steven had stars in his eyes, "This is awesome!"

"Heh!" Lars still had his smile on, "Thanks, Steven I just hope that this goes well. I had some of my old crew helping out with the setup… Padparadsha seems to be pretty keen on what people might like. Pretty weird for someone who can basically predict the past, but hey, a helping hand is a helping hand, right?"

"Ha-ha! I hear that!"

Lars led Steven to the back room where a kitchen was waiting to be put together. Several pieces of stainless steel equipment and tables were strewn about, many of them still wrapped up in plastic and ready to be organized into a kitchen.

"Wow, this place it pretty cool!" Steven told his friend.

"Yeah," Lars said, "But it's still got a long way to go… I'll be ready though, I just know it."

Steven smiled proudly at his friend. Lars certainly came a long way from the boy who once went to great lengths to skip work for a day…

* * *

Later, Steven went to visit Connie. He wanted to tell her about his time as Nekoite; he actually thought she would be into the idea, given that her favorite book series was a fantasy story. Eventually, he arrived at her house. He stepped forward and knocked on the front door. Her father, heading out for his latest security job answered the door.

"Hello there, Ste...ven?"

"Hi, Mr. Mahesweran!" the boy greeted amicably, "Did I come at a bad time?"

"Oh, uh, no, Connie's here, I'm just heading for work but...uh…"

"Yeah?"

"Doug? Who's at the door?" asked Dr. Mahesweran from the kitchen.

"It's just… uh… Steven, dear," answered her husband as he moved aside to let Steven in. He made his way to where the mother was putting away some groceries.

"Good afternoon, Ste- Oh my word!" she suddenly exclaimed when she saw him.

"What?! What's wrong? Did I forget my deodorant?"

"No, but how did you suddenly get several feet taller?! And your voice! And your neck?!"

Rather than be upset, the boy just chuckled. "Don't worry, everyone says that. I'm used to it!"

"Mom!" said Connie as she came downstairs, "Calm down, I told you all about it, remember? How Steven got poofed and came out looking like this?"

"Oh… Uh, right," said the doctor, "But still, I never quite imagined it would be this drastic. How did your vital organs survive that process? How is there no negative side effects from such spontaneous growth? It questions every single thing I spent over a decade getting a doctorate for!"

"Honey, as strange as it is, it isn't exactly the weirdest thing we've seen," said Doug, trying to calm his wife down, "After all, at least it didn't involve space travel this time!" The good doctor then cringed as she remembered how Connie went to outer space almost without reason. It DID merit new human-alien relationships, but still, Dr. Mahesweran nearly had a heart attack that day…

"I suppose you're right. It doesn't change the fact that he's a good kid and our daughter's best friend."

"But just make sure she's back home by ten! Got that, mister?" said Dough while pointing an accusing finger straight at Steven.

"Daaaaaaad," whined Connie, "That's not funny!"

"It kind of is to me!" chuckled Steven.

"Come on, we need to get out of here before they break out the baby pictures!"

"Wait, really? You have those?"

"Three photo albums worth!" chimed Priyanka with a devious smile. Connie all but screamed as she literally dragged Steven out the front door and halfway down the street before calming down

… Slightly anyway.

"Steven!" the now embarrassed Connie yelled at the now giggling Steven, "Why would you ask something like that!?"

"What?" Steven said, trying to calm himself down, "I was curious."

"Yeah, but-!? Gaaahh!" She then threw her head down in further embarrassment.

"Oh come on, you saw some of mine!"

"Yeah, like a page of them from your birthdays! My parents aren't kidding, they were the kind who all but filmed me every day as a baby to 'cherish the memories!' At least now they've laid off with stuff like that…"

"Hey, don't sweat it, parents are just like that," Steven replied reassuringly, "I mean, back when Dad was still trying to raise me, the Gems actually kidnapped me to protect me!"

"Wait, what!?"

"Long story, but yeah, the three of them were really confused about how Rose was gone. They got better!"

Connie had to admit he had a point. "Anyway, what new adventures have you been having? The most exciting thing I've done this week is algebra."

"Well… have you ever wondered what would happen if Lion and I tried to fuse together?"

"Wait… really!?" Connie's eyes lit up at that moment, "That would be awesome! I- Wait, you didn't…!"

Steven had a broad grin as he silently showed her a screenshot he got from his father when he accidentally got a few seconds of Nekoite on footage.

"No. Way. This is just like what happened in book two of the Spirit Morph Saga!"

"I knew you'd think of that! Although I did kinda get carried away with it… And a werewolf-Gem attacked me."

"Heh?"

And thus came an even longer explanation from his sparring match with Jasper to his pair of run-ins with Onyx. By the end of it all, Connie looked less enthused and more confused.

"Okay, that's weird even by your standards."

"Eh, I thought those stretchy Gems were weirder. At least Onyx isn't stretchy like some cartoon character."

"I'm more weirded out by how Jasper was actually nice to you! She's the biggest grump ever and spent her first few days here trying not to pummel you!"

"Yeah… well, I'm just glad I was able to actually befriend her for once. I think I might need Nekoite's help just to deal with her in the future."

"Heh, I can easily see that."

The two shared a small laugh.

* * *

Later the duo was walking along the edge of the town, looking at a few small businesses as they simply enjoyed being together without any imminent threat coming for them. As they walked down the street, however, they saw none other than Jamie past a display window filled with what appeared to be stage costumes on mannequins with a sign out from advertising acting classes.

One of them seemed to be for a new play that Jamie is planning. What surprised them more was when they saw the thespian himself walk out of the theater with his head in his hands.

"Jamie?! Is that you?"

"Hm?" muttered Jamie as he looked to see Steven and Connie both gawking at him. The young man had clearly been putting some time into exercising as he went from a typical gangly teenager, not unlike Lars really, to a noticeably muscular body. While he would never be confused for a bodybuilder, it was impressive how much he managed to change since the last time either of them saw him.

"Oh, hey you guys. Nice new shirt, Steven."

"Um, thanks… But what's going on with you? Is this shop yours?"

"And why do you sound so… bland? Where's all the flowery dialogue you love saying?" asked Connie.

"My vernacular is missing, just like all the customers from my acting school," he said, a bit of sadness in his voice.

"Wait, what!?" Steven said in disbelief, "But… you're one of the best performers in town! How could your school be struggling!?"

"Well…" admitted Connie, "Given the small customer base in a town like Beach City and lower-than-average median income that comes from having an economy heavily based around a peak tourism season, it actually makes sense."

Both of the boys just stared at her, trying to wrap the facts she spewed around their heads.

"I may have read a few economics books…" she sheepishly said, "B-but that still sucks! Have you tried advertising?"

"Yeah, but the bus driver didn't like me doing one-man recreations of Hamlet…"

"Really? That sounds great!" said Steven.

"Your chipper disposition rouses my heart, but it's still a shame. I put so much into this place…"

"You mean all your money?!"

"No, my parents own the building. They loaned it to me saying I had a month to get it off the ground or else I'd have to go to community college in Keystone!"

At that point, Steven and moreso Connie felt their stomachs drop. They KNEW what Jamie was like and they knew it would crush him if he had to abandon his dreams. Especially that whole fiasco with Garnet a while back…

"Jamie, that's not gonna happen!" assured Steven, "You're a thespian who needs to share his talent with the world, not throw it away!"

"Yeah, all you need is some exposure," added Connie, "I think the bigger problem is that nobody knows you're here. If we just get the word out than that should bring in some people!"

"Sure, but how?" Jamie asked solemnly, "I've done all I can think of… Maybe I'm just not cut out for this…"

"It's actually a pretty common problem in small businesses. You've got a great product or idea, but you don't have that much business sense."

"Good thing you've got the smartest girl in Beach City to fix that!" proclaimed Steven, "Plus me!"

At this, Jamie slowly had a hopeful smile on his face. "That sounds great, but what do you have in mind?"

Both Steven and Connie were in thought, then Connie spoke, "What about a twist on an old story?"

Steven then chimed in, "Like, a fairy tale?"

"Yeah! But maybe with a genderswapped role?"

"Ooh, yeah! Like Cinderella or something!"

"Methinks this will be a success!" cheered Jamie as he felt his energy return to him. He ran inside to start putting together his character while the two of them ran over to Steven's house to start putting together their ideas for this new play.

A few minutes later they texted Jamie to arrive so he can see what they have so far.

"Greetings, producers!" announced the thespian as he arrived in costume - a dingy brown smock that looked like it had been sewn together from whatever rags had been lying about an old-fashioned scullery from medieval times.

Steven and Connie both looked at him with a smile.  
"Wow, that's a neat costume, Jamie!" Steven said, impressed.

"Heh, thanks!" Jamie replied, "I thought it would be best to get into character!"

"Heh, true," Connie said, knowing him quite well, "Anyway, the script was pretty easy since the ad is only a few minutes long, but we need a location and someone to play the princess."

"My studio already has backdrops ready and I own the place so it's free to use!"

"Great! Now all we need is your co-star…"

"So… Hm…" Steven was deep in thought. He looked at Jamie, then whispered to Connie, "We can automatically rule out Garnet."

"Yeah," Connie whispered back, "Good call. So… who do we go with? Hm… Maybe Amethyst?"

Steven briefly considered the idea, going through the scene in his mind until Amethyst was to deliver her first line.

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Man, are you for real?! Is that how people talked back then?! That's hilarious!"

"Nope," resigned Steven.

"Well, Pearl actually seems like a pretty good actress. Maybe her?"

Another run-through in Steven's head and this one went much better. The only snag, however, was at the climax of the scene as the two were supposed to share a tender kiss. In this case, though, Jamie began to lean in while Pearl began backing away until Jamie broke character.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"Wha-?! Oh, nothing, it's just, well, how should I put this...Uhhhhhhhhhh...It's the floor!"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean the floor sounds like it's unstable, maybe even suffering decay! It's unsafe! I'll go check on it and be right back!" Pearl then marched away with a toolbox she summoned from her gem. She only returned four hours later after thoroughly inspecting the entire building and handing Jamie a business card for a contractor before running back to the temple.

"I think that's the wrong part for her."

"Yeah… agreed… I know that Peridot wouldn't wanna do it, she's rather be in the audience… But I think she'd be perfect for the backstage stuff."

Steven can easily imagine Peridot in the backstage area, in charge of the lighting, props, backdrops. Plus he had a hunch that the Gem would be very eager to rewrite the whole show otherwise...

"Well the only one left at that point is Lapis but I don't know…"

"She's a better pick than Bismuth. And Jasper's more likely to literally tear the house down…"

"Wait a minute, how many women live here? I thought it was just you and those other three like Garnet?" asked a confused Jamie.

"Oh boy, that's a long story. Bottom line is there are a LOT more Gems around here…"

"That does explain the sudden housing boom around here...I merely thought it was some elaborate movie set."

"Heh, a movie about the Crystal Gems…" thought Connie, "Wonder what that'd be like?"

"Lots of singing!" said Steven brightly.

"Yeah, definitely," Connie said in agreement.

"Uh… who's Lapis?" Jamie asked, still confused.

"One second…" Steven pulled out his phone and pulled up the video chat app. With only a few minutes he had Lapis on his screen.

"Hey Steven! What's up?"

"We're going to make a play with a friend and we want you to be in it!"

"Wait, you mean like on Camp Pining Hearts?"

"Kind of, but it's a lot shorter. It's to help a friend of mine with his acting school or else he'll might have to become… a businessman!"

Lapis giggled at his mock horror before signing off and quickly appearing in the room via warp pad.

"Great! Lapis, this is Jamie," introduced Connie, "He's the actor you'll be working with."

"Hey," waved the Gem in her usual tone, but was confused as Jamie was staring at her.

"Uh…" Jamie then whispered to his friend, "Are you sure about this Steven? She seems… Unenthusiastic, to say the least."

"Come on, Jamie," Steven replied quietly, "Just give her a chance. It'll be great!"

Jamie looked at Lapis again, uncertain. Then… "Alright, I'll give this a shot."

"Okay, the place we're making this thing is in town a few blocks away," instructed Steven, "Jamie, do you have something for Lapis to wear?"

"What's wrong with how I look?" asked the aquatic Gem with her arms crossed.

"It's nothing personal!" assured Jamie, "It's just a way to get into character and make the scene more authentic."

"Okay… Fair enough."

Within the next few minutes, Lapis Lazuli was tasked with trying on different costumes and combinations in order to find the right one from the backrooms of Jamie's school. There were a few misfires, though including a traditional flowing, fairy-tail outfit that ironically didn't sit well with Jamie, an over-the-top 80s outfit that made everyone cringe. And lastly some clown… princess… suit. Either way, everyone began to laugh, even Lapis herself laughed warmly…

Later they were trying another outfit for her.

"Okay… this should be one!" Steven said.

"Oooh, that's perfect!" agreed Connie.

"Well, now you're dressed for the part!" commended Jamie.

The Gem herself had to admit it was her favorite of the lot. She emerged from the dressing room wearing a well-made yet simple wrap dress that ran down past her knees. The fabric was layered different layers of blue starting from near black at the bottom before reaching a sky blue around her shoulders with a subtle wave motif. Combined with her natural blue color scheme and it created a harmonious design that seemed made for her.

"That's…" Jamie seemed to pause at the moment, before seemingly snapping out of this, "It's perfect! You look great!"

"Uh… Thanks," Lapis said, near monotone, "I like it."

"Okay," Connie said, "Now we need the costumes you'll wear, Jamie!"

"Wait, what!?" Jamie said confused, "But I already-"

"No you don't," Steven said, enthusiastic, "Don't worry there."

"We've got this!" Connie added with a more mischievous grin on her face.

And so the two younger teens pulled Jamie into the back and only let him out when they were done. Instead of his medieval peasant getup he was wearing a baggy brown overcoat with no visible shirt underneath, a patched-up baseball cap on his head and a stained pair of running shorts as the only things on his legs besides mismatched sandals.

"We wanted something a tad more modern for our idea," explained Connie, "So while we think you have the right idea getting into character, we need to also have you two matching."

Lapis could not help but giggle at one little omission to his outfit. "Aren't you supposed to be wearing a shirt?"

"He's too poor for one!" explained Steven. Connie giggled at this response.

Jamie looked down at his outfit. Then he said, "Huh. I guess I can make this work. After all, the best actors can make any outfit work!" He then walked over to a nearby mirror and looked at himself before regaining his stride and headed to the front stage where Lapis was still reading through the script. They ran a few rehearsals inside with Steven and Connie enjoying being in the director's chairs. Once they were confident they were ready, they grabbed everything they needed from the building and went to an open portion of the beach with Steven bringing along a camera and a tripod.

"Okay," he said, "This will only be the first take so don't worry if you flub a line." He took out a blue shawl and gave it to Lapis, "Cover yourself with this and you're good to go. You guys remember what was in the script right?" Jamie and Lapis nodded.

"Cool! Ready? Aaaand, action!"

A slight breeze blew over the coastline, much to the distress of a woman in a striking blue ensemble. She clutched the shawl wrapped around her head as much as she could until the gust died down. Once her headscarf was safe, she continued looking through the sand for what she came for. Soon a shabbily dressed young man crossed her path and accidentally bumped into her shoulder.

"Excuse me…" bid the stranger as he wandered off. The woman paid him no mind until she caught something in his hands. A slight glint of blue that caught her eye…

"Excuse me?"

"Hm?"

"Can you please help me? I lost something here on this beach and now I can't find it…"

The stranger turned started to walk away until she spoke up again.

"It's a pair of earrings? Sapphires in the shape of a swan, have you seen anything like it?"

The man turned around to face her revealing a face even younger than hers, but seemed much more grizzled.

"Sorry lady," he apologized, "But nothin' like that around here. Only jewelry we got around here is seashells."

"Oh no…" she fretted as she clutched her shoulders, "I must find those earrings! Those were custom made!"

"Really?" asked the young man, much more interested "One of a kind?"

"Oh yes, extremely valuable! I'd have nightmares thinking it wound up on the black market!"

"Hmmmm… Well there was that one thing…"

"Wait, really?! You saw something?"

"Now I might be wrong on this, but I could've sworn I saw a pair of studs like that in the next town over. Better hurry, though, think there's a big sale going on today…"

"Oh no! I better call my chauffeur right away! Thank you so much!" called the woman as she ran back towards town with her hands already blazing through a phone number on a very expensive cell phone.

The man unclenched his hand and looked down at the sapphire earrings in his grasp. His face lit up with the biggest smile he had in years.

"Guess I finally got a break! And now I know these things are way better off with me than that ditz…"

Much to his surprise, though, the woman came running back towards him! He quickly stuffed the jewelry into one of the many pockets on his overcoat as she came up to him.

"Sorry...I forgot something…" she huffed as she reached for a leather purse she now had over one shoulder and pulled out a dollar bill.

"Huh? What's that for?"

"For helping me with that tip, of course! I couldn't just let someone like you go unrewarded so take it!"

The young man reached out hesitantly, almost like he was expecting her to pull back, and accepted the money. Then he actually looked at it and nearly fainted.

"What the heck?! This is a hundred bucks!"

"Well, sorry, I know it's not that much but-"

"'Not that much?!' I consider it a good day to find a buck lying on the ground! This is like winning the jackpot for me!"

"Really? Goodness, what is the economy like around here?"

The man let out a snide laugh at that. "For me, it's just the National Bank of Mom and Dad don't want anything to do with me. Pretty simple."

The woman stepped back in shock. "Wait, your parents just abandoned you?!"

"Not really...More like I abandoned them. My mom's got a really ritzy hotel in the city up north and my old man's got a really booming construction business. From day one, they wanted me to be some big-money tycoon and make them even richer."

"Well, nothing's wrong with financial success…"

"Yeah, 'till it turns you into rotten parents. Getting shoved into every advanced class even when you suck at the subject, getting the few friends you had turned away because of 'poor social tastes', and then them already signing me up for an uppity university when I was eleven."

"Okay that's… Really extreme but-"

"So then when I was sixteen I told them what I thought. I told them the only class I ever liked was art class and I wanted to be a sculptor. Do you know how my loving parents took the news? Mom laughed in my face and dearest Daddy told me I'm gonna be an entrepreneur and like it or else I wouldn't have a room there."

"That's… incisive?" she asked with worry.

"More like bullying," he answered back, "So after a few months I just… left. Found a suitcase, grabbed whatever I could shove into it and left. Stayed with a buddy for a while, but then he threw me out 'cause he didn't want me around anymore…"

Throughout the whole speech, his body was tense and his voice was clipped. By the end, though, he took off his ratty cap and just stared at the ocean.

"How very sad for you," she replied, her tone saddened, "Have you tried going back?"

"Once. Slammed the door in my face. Never tried again."

"My goodness…" she reached into her purse for more money, but was interrupted by her phone ringing.

"Oh no…" she grumbled.

"What? My pity party getting you down?"

Instead of replying to his quip, she answered her phone and seemed to brace herself. Even from several feet away with the sound of the waves, he could hear a heavily accented man's voice screaming at her from the top of his lungs. He did not pick up the whole conversation, but he could distinctly pick up "responsibilities", "scandalous", and…

"Princess?! You're a-"

"SHHH!" she ordered as she clasped her hands over his mouth, "Do. Not. Tell. Anyone. I am in hot enough water as it is so-"

"What's… someone like you… doing in some no-name town looking for earrings?"

"I just wanted to see the countryside a little bit so I had my chauffeur go the long way. I'm supposed to be at some overblown charity event… And I'm fairly certain I'm staying at your mother's hotel."

"Eh, even I can't blame you there," he admitted, "I may hate the management, but they've got great room service."

"How would you know that?"

"Well, the staff of the place seemed to really like me when I was a kid. The maids' would sneak me breath mints, the doorman let me wear his hat and even the manager who always had a stick up her butt whenever my mom was around would tell me what a good boy I was... How sad is it when the people being paid to be nice are nicer than your actual parents?"

"I… imagine it must be terrible…" she said solemnly.

"Then again...it sounds like life in whatever palace you live in isn't all ball gowns and bachelors, right?"

"... I suppose not. Then again, that's why I come out more on, well, let's say 'exploration trips.'"

He smiled upon hearing the princess had a slight rebellious streak to her. Who would've thought?

"Those earrings, though, are something I need to find. They were a present from a noble of a trading partner of ours-"

"And if you lose the gift they got you, they wouldn't like you very much?"

"Exactly! It could have major repercussions on our economy and diplomacy!"

"Well crud…" muttered the boy as he fished the earrings out of his pockets and reluctantly handed them to her.

"Wait, what? You found them?!"

"Yeah… I didn't know what they were and was just gonna take them to a pawn shop. Now though… Stupid conscience tells me I should give them back. I don't need to think of some kingdom going to heck just so I can get some better food."

He silently placed them in his hand and waited. Waited for what, he was not sure, but he knew something bad was coming. A slap to the face, a bout of screaming, something angry and dramatic. Heck, given this was a literal princess, could she have him arrested or even executed for this?!

Instead he got a thankful hug and her whispering to him. "You have no idea how much this means to me… Thank you... "

"Rocco," he answered as he hugged her back, "My name's Rocco."

She happily put the dazzling accessories on and then pulled something else out from her purse. She placed in his hands and then fled for her ride while waving him goodbye as she ran across the sand.

"Rocco" then turned to the camera, looking it straight in the eye and began to speak.

"I hope you all enjoyed the show!" he spoke in a much more jaunty tone, "But this is only a small example of what the theatrical arts can accomplish! If you too want to awaken the inner thespian in you, than I can help! My name is Jamie, the proud owner of Jamie's School of Theater Showmanship in Beach City! Come to see the show, leave being the show!"

He flashed a pearly white smile while 'accidentally' losing the overcoat around his shoulders leaving his bare chest exposed.

"And cut!" called Connie from behind the camera, signalling Steven to shut the device off.

"That was fantastic!" praised Steven, "You really nailed it!"

"Really?" asked a blushing Lapis, "I mean, it was really fun but-"

"Ah ah, don't chastise yourself," advised Jamie, "You were great, Lapis. It seems you have far more talent than I thought at first glance"

Still blushing, Lapis smiled. "Thanks. If you ever need someone else for this, I guess I could help again…"

"Well, I'm hoping this ad will get me filled up with students, but if you'd ever like to enroll I'll save a spot for you."

"Uh… sure."  
"Wow," Steven said, looking at the recording they did, "This is pretty cool! But, uh, Jamie, what was with that bit at the end? Taking off the coat like that?"

"Well, a little fanservice for the audience doesn't hurt…"

"Fanservice?" asked Lapis

"Yeah!" Jamie took off the coat, becoming bare-chested again, "Something to keep the audience's attention?"

"Yeah… That was kind of the idea in mind," admitted Connie.

"Connie!" shouted Steven with mock surprise, "What will your parents say about this?!"

"Dad would really like the play and so would Mom, but she would probably rewatch the ending for some reason…"

Steven giggled at this response, especially considering what happened earlier that day. With all that done, though, Connie departed to edit the commercial together while Steven helped bring the equipment back to Jamie's place. There, the two began to talk.

"Y'know," Jamie said, I almost didn't recognize you at first Steven. You've really grown!"

"I thought the same thing about you! When did you get so buff?"

"Mostly through protein shakes and exercise videos, but it was all to further my craft!"

"Yeah, mine's a much longer story…"

"Well, look on the bright side, you might just make it in the world of theater as a creator someday with all the stories you could tell!"

Steven smiled at this, he then decided to tell Jamie a few details about what happened, omitting any details about his time with his mom. Afterwards Jamie was shocked, "Wait, you mean you pretty much almost died!?"

"Yeah, but now here I am! Steven Universe, Crystal Gem and part-time playwright!"

"Well, that certainly would make for a show fit for Empire City. Plus it kinda explains your growth spurt, your body had to adapt! I mean, you're more built than me!"

"Heh, maybe, but don't expect me to be doing any shirtless scenes!"

"Oh, not now, you're much too young for that, but perhaps in the future… In front of Connie?"

"Wait, what?!" Steven's face reddened upon hearing that. Jamie couldn't help but laugh.

"Relax, I'm just messing around! Everyone's different with couples, especially when they're your best friend."

"But Connie… And me just feels so…"

"Weird because of how long you've known her?"

"Yeah…"

"So if you're fine being friends for now, then stay being friends. No one's demanding you hook up right now, it's only a possibility."

"Huh, that's really good advice. When did you get so good at this?"

"A certain someone you know told me that love at first sight isn't something that works like in fairy tales. It takes time to form a real relationship."

"Oh." At that moment, Steven knew that Jamie really was finally over Garnet.

"Yup," Jamie smirked. Then Steven's phone buzzed. He then checked the phone, it was Ronaldo. He opened it, only to find a message in bold and all caps that read, **URGENT! GET HERE A.S.A.P.!**

* * *

"Uh, Jamie, I'm gonna have to cut this short, I'll see you around, okay?"

"Sure thing, Steven! Thanks for all your help!"

A few floating jumps later and Steven was at the lighthouse where Ronaldo was staring intently at an image on his computer screen. The blogger was so engrossed by it he barely even noticed Steven entering the room.

"Ronaldo, what is it? I'm here."

"Oh, thank goodness! You really need to see this!"

Steven took his word for it and stared at the screen, fearing that some giant asteroid or deadly space laser was approaching, but relaxed when he saw a gigantic blue spaceship. In the shape of a right arm.

"Oh, it's just Blue Diamond coming. Nothing to fear, Ronaldo."

Then, only a few moments later, Steven realized that if one of the Diamonds was coming to visit him in person, that might be a cause for alarm in and of itself.

"Uh, better go make sure what she wants, though… You shouldn't have to much to worry about."

"Um… okay? Just be careful Steven, I still don't trust those giant ladies…"

After leaving Ronaldo and his paranoid comment, Steven went to the spot on the beach where he knew Blue Diamond's ship would be.

The massive craft's landing quickly drew the attention of all the nearby Crystal Gems who were around and all had to make way so the titanic matriarch did not accidentally step on anyone.

"Steven, oh thank the stars you're already here! There isn't a moment to waste, I desperately need your help!"

"What's the problem?"

"It's the Human Zoo! I intercepted a transmission that says Red Diamond's planning on launching an attack there any minute!"


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13: Chased into Space**

Even by Steven's standards, today was a bizarre day. He's literally fought monsters, confronted even God doesn't know how many of his mother's problems, and even managed to pacify an imperialist society of alien rock women. Now, though, he was already heading into outer space in Blue Diamond's ship in order to stop an oncoming invasion of Gem mutants led by a madwoman who could loosely be called his long-lost aunt.

* * *

To make matters worse, he had to spend several minutes fabricating a story to the majority of the Crystal Gems as most of them did not know the story of Pink Diamond. Many of them wanted to jump at the chance to have a mission again, but the sad truth was that many of them were not ready for the reveal that Rose Quartz was far from the Gem they knew. It took Blue herself to calm the group down after someone started demanding that they just let Red Diamond take the place if it meant one less thing associated with Pink Diamond.

That left Steven with Garnet, Amethyst, Pearl, Peridot, Lapis Lazuli, Bismuth and a seemingly reluctant Jasper to help with the oncoming attack. They even brought Lion just in case. The trip also raised some problems as not everyone in the group was fully informed.

"Okay, could someone tell me what the heck a Human Zoo is?" asked an impatient Bismuth.

The others were all silent for a moment until Pearl stepped forward. "Well, back in the days when she was still Pink Diamond, she stated concern for the lifeforms on Earth. In response, the other Diamonds… well… 'retrieved' humans from Earth and placed them in an enclosed habitat."

"Are. You. KIDDING ME?!"

"Sadly, no," answered Garnet, "She still wasn't sure how humans worked at that point."

"So the best thing they could think of is _kidnapping _people and treating them like _pets?!_ What was Rose thinking?!"

"To be fair, she was far from her days as Rose Quartz," admitted Blue Diamond, "And we only went along with it because it seemed like a good idea… at the time."

Steven looked at her with a worried expression on his face. Blue looked back at him, then looked away. Suddenly, her Pearl spoke up, "My Diamond, we are approaching the Human Zoo now."

"Oh no, she's already here!"

The eight Crystal Gems saw that Blue Pearl was right and they sadly arrived too late. Several pods were already present and engaging in dogfights with the vessels Blue Diamond sent to guard the place. It seemed Red had even found a way to let her ships change shape as they could not only dodge, but briefly shift their structure to avoid the laser fire. While Blue's forces had the numbers advantage, they were quickly getting outpaced by the unpredictability of their craftier opponents. The actual zoo itself was mostly unharmed, but it had taken a few spots of damage from collateral. Even worse was that the group spotted another group of red pods arriving and ignoring the enemy fighters.

"And she's already called for reinforcements," said Jasper, "Do any of the other Diamonds know about this?"

"Pearl, go contact Yellow and White right now! Tell to send anyone they can spare!" ordered Blue Diamond.

"At once, My Diamond."

"Wait, they aren't fighting anyone," noticed Peridot, "They're latching onto the zoo!"

Steven looked in horror at the fact that the techie was right about that statement. "What does that mean?!"

"It means she's sending troops inside the place to infiltrate it," said Pearl, "Judging from how eager she is to have Steven as a test subject, she's planning on abducting the humans still living there."

"Well then let's stop talking and get to busting some freaky faces!" exclaimed Amethyst, "The Famethyst are in there too!"

* * *

They immediately rushed into the scene via warp pad, but after taking a few steps they ran into a few of Red Diamonds fully armed troops faced them. Compared to the other experiments they saw, however, the small squad of gems in front of them looked like barely-altered rubies and jades with only some light grey armor plating along their bodies.

"Halt!" one of them proclaimed, "This station is now under the control of Red Diamond! Leave or you will all be-"

She never got the chance to finish as Jasper charged forward and punched her into a nearby wall.

"Talking's over! Everyone get to fighting!"

And with that, the other seven charged ahead and made quick work of their opponents. Amethyst quickly wrapped one of them in her whip leaving Pearl free to poof them with her spear. Garnet was already bubbling one she had quickly beaten with a few gauntlet punches. Peridot and Bismuth pummeled another one into submission using a combination of shapeshifting hands and flying metal projectiles. Even Steven was able to take on a few with his new sword and shield, easily handling two of them, before they were poofed by Lapis via a few water spears. Lion himself went to town with a few as well.

"Heh, that was too easy!" bragged Amethyst.

"Never underestimate your opponents," reminded Pearl, "Especially given who they work for."

The heroic bunch ran forward out of the corridor and into a larger room where Holly Blue Agate was barking orders at two misshapen Amethysts to go clear out intruders from one of the lower decks.

She then looked at the reinforcements, then to Steven, then froze… "You… You're…"

"It's Steven, not Pink Diamond, and yes you were a real jerk to me and _especially _Pearl. Now let's all just-"

Before he could finish, though, the larger Gem fell to her knees and started smashing her head against the floor, literally kowtowing to the teenage boy.

"My deepest apologies, Your Eminence! I should have been able to recognize one of the Diamonds and her exclusive entourage at first glance, but instead, I belittled and insulted you and even threatened to have you all shattered! I will accept any punishment you or your court sees fit!"

"Anything, you say…" smirked Amethyst, unable to resist her claims, "Well first you can-"

"No, no time for that!" yelled Pearl as she stepped forward, "Now if you can please direct us to-"

"Please, I am begging you to punish me for my blights! I'll resign from my post, I'll go to work operating injectors at the worst Kindergarten in the quadrant, I'll even do the work of a Pearl!

Pearl herself grinned at such an idea, whereas Steven frowned, however, before anything else would happen, the whole place shook!

"What the-!?" was Amethyst's reaction.

"Red Diamond's forces are still coming! We need to move!" Garnet stated.

"This is a battle!" shouted Jasper as she picked up Holly Blue by her shoulders, "Now is not the time for pity! Pull! Yourself! Together!" She punctuated her last few words with a slap.

The Agate managed to compose herself and regain some of her usual demeanor. "Fair enough, you are correct. Now then, I sent those two Amethysts to the barracks to retrieve all the weapons we have on board. I suggest half of you join them and arm yourselves while the rest head to the main habitat and protect the livestock." She then, however, faltered for a second after seeing the look on Steven's face. The others disregarded her as the situation was quickly growing dire.

"Steven, you take Lapis, Pearl and Bismuth to the habitat! I'll take the others to the barracks! We'll join you whenever we can!"

Steven then began to run in the direction of the Zoo from what his memory told him, with Lapis, Bismuth, and Pearl running alongside him with Lion following suit. When the arrived outside the main habitat where two of the Amethysts also made on Earth stood guard, they immediately recognized him.

"Hey! You never told us you were Pink Diamond!" one of them jeered.

"Heh, I thought it was hilarious!" the other one commented, "Holly Blue almost threw herself into space when she found out!"

"Yeah, okay, that's pretty funny, but there's no time for that! Are the people okay?"

"Yeah, they're totally fine."

"Trust us, they won't be for long," said Lapis, "We need to go in and protect them."

"If you say so…"

After a long process of opening the door and accessing the direct route into the h

* * *

abitat, the quartet of Crystal Gems and their feline companion found the room exactly as Steven left it; a tropical-paradise environment with a sparkling lake along with rolling hills under a glassy blue sky.

"Well, at least they haven't trashed the place yet…" remarked Bismuth as they made their way inside. Steven took a look around, and sighed in relief, it seemed that Red Diamond's forces hadn't made it inside yet.

"Hey, it's Steven!" shouted a jubilant voice over the horizon, "He's come back!"

"Oh no…" groaned the teenager.

Bismuth and Lapis were confused by his reaction until all of them were swarmed by the human habitants of the enclosure. They seemed happy to see Steven, though, it seemed that the feeling was only _partially _mutual.

"Ste-van has returned! Everyone do cannonballs!"

"Is Ga-reg with you?"

"Does this mean you're here for tonight's Choosening?"

"Uhhhh…" said Lapis, "What the heck is wrong with these people?"

"Long story short, they were Pink Diamond's...pets," spoke Pearl with a queasy tone in her voice.

"When we get back, I'm taking a very long lava bath," droned Bismuth after a brief, awkward pause.

"Alright, back it up!" commanded one of the Famethyst, "These guys are just here to inspect the place! Give them some space!"

"What does 'inspect' mean?"

"Uh…" she went. Steven, on the other hand, did a facepalm.

He then recomposed himself, then spoke calmly, "We're just here to look around to make sure everything is okay, is that alright?"

"Sure thing, Ste-van!"

"You're so nice, Steven!"

"I'm sure the Little Voice misses you!"

* * *

And with that bit of awkwardness done, Steven along with his two new bodyguards and the other Gems examined every area they could find for any potential sign of Red Diamond. Be it some spying device, an undercover agent somewhere or even anything out of the ordinary. While Steven was happy to hear that the Famethysts were doing better thanks to Holly Blue becoming more humble, they did not find anything out of the ordinary.

"Well, I guess they must be in other parts of the station," thought Lapis out loud.

"That or they're preparing something bigger…" said Bismuth.

"Either way, we've all we can here. Let's rendezvous with the others for now."

As the quartet and Lion were escorted out of the enclosure by their helpful purple escorts, the humans gave them a cheery sendoff and invited "Ste-van" to return whenever he wished.

The other half of the Crystal Gems made their way down several hallways and several lifts in order to reach the barracks at the literal bottom of the space station. As they made the trip they were stopped numerous times by Red Diamond's forces. Each time, though, they were shocked by how easy the opposition was. Despite signs indicating that there are multiple pods filled with Red's mutated Gems storming the place, the foursome only ever fought low-caliber Gems with some basic armor added on and occasionally a tail.

"Man, did she send all of the weaksauce Gems here?" asked Amethyst, "This is super easy!"

"This doesn't make any sense," thought Peridot, "Why launch a full-scale attack on an enemy stronghold and then use your weakest troop to perform the task?"

"Two reasons for that," pointed out Jasper, "One, Red's getting desperate and doesn't have a choice."

"How would you know?" asked Amethyst.

"I'm literally _built_ for war, runt, and that means strategy. I'm no leader like an Agate or an Emerald, but I'm not an idiot. And since we all know Red's not short on resources, that rules out the first option."

"And what's the second option… ?" Amethyst said cautiously.

Before they could hear the answer, they reached their destination and saw two friendly Gems urging them onwards. The four rushed into the barrack doors as the Amethysts inside hurriedly shut the doors.

"Hey sisters, what's up?" joked Amethyst, "Is there a fire or something?"

"Are you crazy?!" one of them shouted, "That ex-Diamond's soldiers are everywhere! We need to hide!"

"Hide from what?" boasted Jasper, "The pebbles they threw at us were so easy that Pearl could beat them."

Garnet, however, paid no mind to the blatant elitism and started inspecting the wall of weapons at their disposal. Along with several dozen handheld destabilizers, there were sleek metallic gadgets that she did not know how to operate.

Peridot, however, was thrilled. "Oh. My. CLOD! You guys have the molecular density modulator?! These were still in the testing stages when I last checked!"

She happily picked up what looked like a silver numerical panel written in Gem language and started fiddling with the buttons before attaching it to her back. When she was done, she proceeded to run straight at the door locking them in the room and phased straight through it like she was a ghost.

"Holy smokes!" Amethyst said in shock as she and the others looked surprised.

Except for Garnet of course. "Okay, we are definitely keeping that one," she admitted.

"And then we have several portable tractor-beam generators…" continued Peridot.

"Hey, that's the freaky wand Aquamarine had when she came to Earth!"

To demonstrate how it worked, the techie twisted the ends of the rod and soon it was humming with power. With a minor flick of her wrist she summoned an ensnaring bubble of energy around one of the Famethyst.

"Hey, put me down!" she yelled, sounding genuinely angry, "That's not some toy!"

"Alright, alright, don't get your minerals in a twist…" One flick later the bubble was gone, but the burly Amethyst was not amused.

"Watch where you point that thing! We don't want to attract any of Red Diamond's forces!"

"Man, what gives, sister?" asked Amethyst, "Did that stuffy Agate lodge one of those huge boots up your butt or something?"

"'Sister?' What are you talking about?" asked Jasper, now just wanting to leave the room and punch something else.

"Oh yeah, all the Gems stationed here were made on Earth just like me! Which means they're all your sister too!"

Jasper looked ready to flatten the shorter quartz for suggesting such a thing, but then the whole place shook again!

"That was the biggest one yet!" panicked one of the guards, "They just keep coming!"

"You seem awfully scared compared to last time," remarked Garnet.

"Dudes, chill out!" said Amethyst, "What's gotten into you?"

"I've got an idea…" grumbled Jasper as she ran for one of the destabilizers, quickly activated it and jabbed the electrifying weapon into one of the guards. She screamed in pain as the green-tinted lightning racked her body.

"What on Earth are you doing?!" shouted Peridot, only to be more surprised when the purple Gem _did not poof _from the weapon. Instead her body seemed to turn into liquid until her form began to change into something different. An eerily familiar magenta Gem…

"It's a Spinel!" exclaimed Garnet, "This whole thing is a trap!"

"No, really?!" shouted Jasper as the other "Amethyst" dropped her act and just shifted back into her original form.

"What did you do with the real ones?!" demanded Amethyst, becoming enraged in a few seconds, "Tell me!"

"Well, Red Diamond isn't interested in these ordinary humans," explained one of the shapeshifters as she sent a stretchy fist into Jasper's face to free her comrade, "But she can always use more Gems for tests!"

Suddenly, Amethyst got tense, her mind registering what that MIGHT mean for the Famethysts…

And then she got so angry that even Jasper was impressed. "Touch them and you're _cracked!_"

* * *

Meanwhile, on the upper levels of the ship, Steven's group was making their way back to the main hub area of the ship when Holly Blue immediately came running up to them.

"Pink Di-, I mean, Steven, we have an emergency! Some of my guards have gone missing!"

"Wait, what?! How'd you lose track of them?"

Holly Blue seemed to be in a state of panic, "Well pardon me if I have higher priorities in moments like this…"

"What's a higher priority than keeping your own forces intact?!" shouted a thoroughly offended Pearl.

"Well, ensuring the place is not damaged, of course! Blue Diamond would have my stone if there was too much collateral and-"

She was cut off by a righteously angry Steven who dropped all pretenses of trying to be diplomatic and hoisted the stuffy Gem off the ground, much to everyone's shock; Steven was usually _never _this aggressive.

"You've got _people _here! Dozens of innocent people who can't defend themselves! If anything happened to them, Blue Diamond will _shatter _you and I'm pretty sure I couldn't stop her then! Now we're going to go back to people and protect them and you are going to come with us or I will put you in front of Blue myself! _Got it?!_"

If looks could kill, Holly Blue's gem would be a pile of dust on the flow by now. "Y-Yes my Diamond!" she whimpered, easily intimidated. She offered no further resistance as Steven threw her onto Lion's back and led the group back towards where they were when the largest tremor yet struck. Steven's expression easily changed from one of frustration to one of concern.

Suddenly a thought struck him, "Wait. Guys, what if Red Diamond's forces _aren't_ here for the Humans…?"

"What?" Pearl asked, confused, "What do you mean, what else would there be here for her?"

Steven thought for a moment before his reached a conclusion, upon which made his blood run cold… "The Rose Quartz gems… The ones the Diamonds brought here."

* * *

Before they could get much farther, though, they were already back in front of the enclosure. Rather than waiting for the two Famethysts to properly unlock the passageway inside, Lion took care of it for them by roaring a portal straight into the room where the hoard of gemstones was. There, they saw something that almost made Steven's heart stop.

There were a group or Red's forces, trying desperately to collect as many Rose Quartzes as possible. One of them was out of her bubble and was trying to escape, cowering from the soldiers trying to capture her, fear etched in her face. Her face… that was an exact match to Steven's mother…

The group wasted no time leaping into the fray as the group of invaders. Lapis immediately flew up to stop the Gems leaping into the air trying to pop more of the bubbled gems while the rest stuck to the ground. Bismuth and Pearl had to contend with a wide array of normal Gems with the same armor enhancements as the ones the other groups faced plus a few Spinels, but this time they were ready. The two charged in side-by-side and felt a twinge of nostalgia for their days in the original Gem War. Lion also got in on the action pouncing on some unsuspecting mooks who quickly learned that angry pink felines are not to be trifled with. While clearly anxious, Holly Blue proved a capable fighter with her electrified whip as she trapped several intruders before zapping them back into their stones.

That left Steven with trying to get to the cowering copy of his mother as several Gems were eager to stand in his way. They quickly realized that was a terrible idea as the boy charged forward with his sword in one hand slashing with frightening proficiency while his shield stopped anything that could remotely hurt him. Several quickly defeated Gems later and Steven was in front of the doppelganger of his mother. Although she was wearing the typical bodysuit of a quartz soldier as opposed to Rose's signature giant dress, the resemblance unnerved him.

"Hey, it's okay…" he assured as he reached out a hand to the horrified woman, "I'm here to help you."

The Rose Quartz took it, but was obviously still shaken by her surroundings. "Y-Yes…" she said nervously, "Thank you. Whoever you are."

Steven had to literally fight the urge to call this new Gem "Mom" and started leading her to the open door. He was not sure what to do with this one, but it felt inherently wrong to shove her back in a bubble and just sit here for eternity. The other Gems successfully held them back and managed to bubble some of the intruders while the rest made a hasty retreat. Once they all regrouped, though, they had something else to contend with once they were alone.

"Steven?" asked an _extremely _flustered Pearl, "Who is that?!"

"Oh, come now, you can't be that thick," chastised Holly Blue, "That's one of the Rose Quartz gems that was enclosed here. How she got out is surprising, but it'll be easy to-"

"We are _not _putting her back," affirmed Lapis, knowing how it felt to be held trapped, "She doesn't deserve to just… be here as some exhibit."

"I totally get that…" agreed Bismuth, though she looked noticeably uncomfortable, "But even I think this might be a problem later."

Steven nodded nervously, only for a part of the nearby wall to be rammed through, obviously, someone just blew a hole in it. And as if the devil himself was jinxing them, the first gem to walk out of the freshly made hole in the wall was none other than Red's Pearl. "Ah," she said in her creepily calm voice, "Hello again, Steven."

"OH COME ON!" shouted Bismuth, "What else is there?! Let me guess, White Diamond's gonna turn evil again, right?!

The deranged, servant gem merely frowned, saying, "How… hilarious…" She then turned to Steven, "Amazing isn't it Steven? Of all the Gem types your mother would've disguised herself into, she picked a Quartz, a Rose Quartz even. Isn't it… curious…? And now, my Diamond requests ACTUAL Rose Quartzes to proceed with her key projects. It seems like… what do you humans call it? 'Fate'?"

"What is up with you?!" shouted Steven, "Why do you keep doing this?!"

"Oh, I believe that's quite apparent, Steven. Red Diamond was looking to expand her studies and needed physical specimens of Rose Quartz gems. Even then, though, she had a hunch Blue Diamond would get you involved. That's why she 'accidentally' let one of her messages be intercepted."

"What?! This whole was a trap?" said Lapis.

"Oh, no, there was no guarantee that you'd be here, but if you were it would be another opportunity to acquire your unique body for further progress. If not then Red Diamond could acquire many things such as the last Rose Quartzes in the galaxy, the humans here for more organic material and perhaps test subjects/potential hostages in the Amethyst guards that also come from your home planet."

Steven's head was spinning after hearing that. No matter what she did, Red Diamond would get something out of this. She banked on how he and Blue Diamond would leap into action and even if they did not she would reap rewards from everything else the zoo had.

"Now then," continued the eerie assistant as she pulled a bright red halberd from her gemstone, "My Diamond might be willing to call off her forces if you surrender."

Steven didn't even hesitate with his answer as he raised his shield cautiously, "No.

"Really? You, of all beings, would ignore diplomacy? It seems rather contradictory to your mother-"

Before she could finish, she was cut off by Steven's own Pearl, running into her at maximum speed and landing a hit in the face.

"Don't you _ever _talk about her!" she yelled before proceeding to show why she was _the _famous renegade Pearl that made Homeworld so afraid. She summoned a spear in the blink of an eye and landed several hits before her red opponent finally managed to defend herself.

The room soon devolved into a battleground again as the others all joined in along with a swarm of soldiers that Red Pearl brought as backup.

* * *

Meanwhile, on her ship, Blue Diamond was watching the scene with growing anxiety. She tried contacting the other Diamonds for help, but that was a dead end as all of their channels were jammed somehow. Turns out Red Diamond also figured out how to disrupt communication signals in her spare time…

This left her growing more and more worried as the invading pods had successfully chased off her forces and thus all of them were piling into the station with nothing to stop them. She felt her emotions start to get the better of her before her Pearl spoke up.

"Pardon me, My Diamond, but I am receiving a special transmission for you."

"What? From one of the Diamonds?!" she dared to hope.

"Yes… but you are not going to like it. I apologize in advance for any discomfort you feel."

Blue was confused by this and now was more curious than nervous. However, one the holo-screen appeared, the nervousness became pure dread as the smug visage of Red Diamond herself was in front of her.

"Hello there, Blue. it's been so long, hasn't it?"

Blue looked at the face with contempt, "Red Diamond. I'm surprised you decided to lead this personally."

"Oh, it merely seemed fitting," shrugged the mad scientist, "This will be the closest I get to our dearly departed Pink Diamond now that she's gone."

"Don't you DARE act like you care about her! You treated her horrendously before we banished you and-"

"And is that any different from you? Thrusting expectations on her? Forcing her to conform to traditions? Punishing and chastising her all because she wanted to explore her own path?"

Red Diamond's confident sneer started to turn into genuine anger as she continued.

"And that's not the only Gem you've hurt in your time. The infallibly wise Gem solely responsible for all legal matters in our empire and she spends her spare time blubbering worse than a pebble and wasting all her time moping about the galaxy!"

"I realize what I did was wrong!" rebutted the monarch, "And I still cannot express my guilt for all I've done to Pink…"

"I don't mean just Pink, you imbecile! I'm referring to the _trillions _of Gems you've sentenced to execution for the minorest of offences! Anything outside your paradigm is thrown away and discarded, and that disgusts me to my core! Even Black was just as blind as you are! He claims to understand exile and isolation, the self-exile _you _pushed him into by the way, and yet he still follows your ideals!"

Blue let the harsh words sink in and did not interrupt as Red's tirade continued.

"Your supposedly perfect empire has one crucial weakness you don't recognize: scarcity. Eventually you _will _run out of resources and you will have _nowhere _to go. And why is our race doomed to this? All because of you Diamonds turning your noses up at new ideas for the sake of useless 'purity' and 'traditions'! You call me mad?! What kind of madness is it to doom your entire species for nothing?!"

Blue's head was as low as it could be and tears ran freely down her face. This meant her Pearl was forced to cry as well as Red Diamond settled down and regained some of her usual composure.

"Now then, while you wallow in self-pity, I will be gathering resources to _save _all of Gemkind from extinction. I hope something I've said has gotten through that impenetrable ego of yours. That will be all."

And with that, the transmission was done and the fearsome monarch was indeed left to stew in her emotions. The comments about Pink Diamond stung especially strong as Steven pointed out the exact same thing. It was her stubbornness and prejudice that eventually shoved Pink out of her life.

She lifted her head and looked once more at the Human Zoo, arguably the last remnant of her deceased sister, and saw all of the pods clinging to its surface. The more she looked, the more she thought of all that was at stake. The Gems within, including the collection of Rose Quartzes, the memories it held, Steven…

He was still there! All at once Blue realized Steven was in there, outnumbered by Red's forces and if that message was any indication, was in there with Red Diamond herself!

Blue shut her eyes as she felt all of the sorrow she had become so used to feeling melt away as searing anger flooded her. Her tears stopped as she looked one last time at the zoo, her entire vision turning red.

"My Diamond?" asked her Pearl, almost trembling as she felt her master's anger, "What are you going to do?"

"I'm going to prove her wrong."

With that she marched through her vessel until she reached the main port in the palm of the ship's hand. The port was of course closed as the vessel was in flight, but that did not stop her. She placed both her hands onto the door and with one mighty heave the metal gave way as if it was not there. A massive rush of air began blowing out of the ship and into the vacuum of space, but it did not budge her. Instead she took one massive leap and flew out of the hand like a missile. The lethal cold barely fazed her as she propelled herself towards the base with another mighty thrust of her legs. She rocketed straight towards the main entrance and like a comet she crashed headfirst into the entryway. The impact felt like a light blow to the head to her.

* * *

Meanwhile, Steven and company were still brawling with Red Pearl and her forces. Despite being harshly outnumbered, the group was holding their own against Red's soldiers. However, as they continued and were getting boxed in by the gaggle of Gems surrounding them, they all shared a sickening feeling that they were being played with. It was less like the opposition saw this as a serious battle and more of an amusement. The three Crystal Gems, Lion and even Holly Blue stood in a circle cornered by a pack of flunkies that did not seem to be remotely afraid that anything could hurt them. For every one Gem they managed to pick off, another three seemed to take her place.

The only exception was Steven as he was left to Red Pearl. She seemed intrigued by the physical changes he underwent since their last encounter on Earth. Like the troops under her command, she treated this less like a genuine fight and more like a controlled experiment as she stayed in her regular form.

Red made the first move by lunging at him with her halberd, but it was easily blocked by his shield. She then leapt into the air and tried to get behind him, but he was one step ahead of her by flinging his shield in order to attack her mid-flight. She swiftly dodged the projectile, but what she did not see was him coming around behind her with another shield in hand and swinging it with enough force to knock her off her feet.

"So… Your changes are not just cosmetic," spoke Red Pearl, "Your agility and strength have been increased substantially."

Rather than respond, Steven stood his ground and waited for her to continue. She then, much to his surprise, switched weapons as her polearm changed into an odd sword with a wavy curved blade.

With this new blade in hand, Red ran poised to run him through only to find he had swiftly moved out of the way. She twisted on her heels to stick him, but he surprised her again by grabbing her wrist and forcing her to release her grip. With her briefly disarmed, Steven brought out his own sword and tried to end the fight with a decisive blow. She instead summoned a replacement sword and blocked before she could be damaged and leapt away to safety.

"Oh my, you've also become more confident! I was led to believe you were against fighting, hm?"

This time Steven took the initiative and ran forward with a bubble surrounding him. While put off by the maneuver, Red Pearl flung herself to the side as he barreled through right where she had been standing. That was not enough to lose him, though, as he simply turned and tried again to run her over with his makeshift tank. Pass after pass happened, with Steven even taking the opportunity to bowl over the few stragglers who tried to break away from the others and attack him instead, until Red Pearl decided she had enough toying around.

Her gem began to glow as her body was engulfed by a blinding light and her form rapidly changed. While it seemed to be the same four-armed monstrosity as last time, a few differences were quickly apparent once her body became visible. For one, her tail now had a massive stinger at the end of it that looked like it could pierce steel. Her legs now had an odd metallic sheen to them as if they had been replaced with robotic copies. She had the same four clawed arms, but now there was a gaping hole in each of her palms. The most surprising change, however, was her face as she now had three rows of eyes sitting on top of the other.

"Okay… That's new…" gulped Steven as he now looked at the massive opponent he was now facing.

* * *

**Wow! That was intense wasn't it? Anyway's I hope you enjoyed. And please feel free to leave a review, we would definitely like your input in all of this. 'Till the next time!**


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14: Battles**

Red Pearl, in her transformed state, aimed her new stinger right at Steven. Thinking fast, and with some panic, the hybrid managed to sidestep to safety at the last second, the stinger sliding right past his face. As he managed to narrowly avoid having a heart attack, Steven realized that his day has officially gotten weirder.

He did not have long to reflect on that, however, before the monster charged straight at him. He leaped into the air to avoid her but was surprised again when she raised two of her arms and suddenly saw two massive blasts of air shoot out from the holes on her palms.

"Seriously?!" he exclaimed as he summoned a bubble around himself, being pushed back several feet from that blast instead of getting a face full of razor-sharp air.

The other Crystal Gems in the room saw the confrontation and, wanting to assist Steven, tried to power through the ring of Red's forces that still surrounded them. Lapis tried flying above them, but only got met with an onslaught of opponents leaping into the air and forcing her back down. Eventually, though, Lion got fed up with the situation and just summoned a portal.

"Alright, that's perfect!" cheered Bismuth, only to be surprised when Lion leaped through the gate himself and it promptly shut behind him.

"Steven, you need to train him better when we get back!" reprimanded Pearl as she found three overly eager Gems stalking towards her.

"Little busy here!" replied the boy as tried retreating only to find no matter how far he got, Red Pearl was literally on top of him.

* * *

Meanwhile, in one of the lower parts of the base, Garnet's group was still trying to rendezvous with the others. The problem was that Red Diamond planned for the occasion and thus sent a bulk of her forces to keep them downstairs and clog the hallways so much they could not proceed.

On the plus side, it seemed her plans to sabotage the weapons in the station's barracks failed which meant the group was able to get some extra help.

"BONZAI!" shouted Amethyst as she, wearing a molecular density modulator (Which she called the MDM for short) leaped into the wall and reappeared behind the group and started drawing their attention. She managed to get several of their foes to chase her down the hallway and left the other three to their own devices.

Garnet and Jasper both wielded handheld destabilizers and, despite the animosity between them, proved a rather devastating force as they zapped enemy after enemy into submission. That left Peridot with the gravity wand as she happily flung helpless mooks into walls, the ceiling, and each other and treated the entire thing like some surreal game as opposed to a tense battle.

"Now I see why they restricted these things!" cackled the overjoyed techie as she twirled a captive Gem over her head like a lasso, "With one of these in my possession, Homeworld would be doomed!" She threw in an evil laugh as she sent her hapless plaything flying. With that kind of force, the unlikely trio cleared their path and made their way down the hall to find Amethyst surrounded by gemstones she was quickly bubbling.

"Ha! These rocks are too easy," she said, "Give me a real challenge!"

"Watch your mouth," warned Jasper, "This _is_ still too easy. She may have numbers now, but why are they all lightweights?"

"That's a good point," agreed Garnet, "All of these look like normal Gems instead of those awful experiments she uses."

"Either way," interjected Peridot, "We've got nothing stopping us from reuniting with the others and ensuring that clod of a Diamond doesn't get her touch stubs on any of the humans here."

The four ran off back up the various levels, taking out the few stray Gems they ran into along the way until the reached the main room. When they did not spot any of the others in the group, they headed to the main enclosure and found two of the Famethyst still guarding the entryway.

"Hey, look who it is!" cheered one of them, "It's our favorite shortstack!"

"Oh thank goodness you two are real!" said Amethyst as she and others reached the door, "The last ones were imposters!"

"What?!" replied the other guard, "You mean someone's been sending in fakes?"

"Considering the fact that we're armed with high-grade Gem weaponry and that your base is still under attack, I'd say so," said Peridot, "Now we need to be in that enclosure and ensure that the humans here have not been captured."

As the group was led into the room they learned that the other half of their group did come by here twice, but Lion sent them somewhere else at the last moment. Before they could ponder that too much, the way to the enclosure was open and they found the place was deserted.

"They aren't here," grumbled Jasper, "What, did they all get captured already?"

"Doubtful," said Garnet, "From what Steven said about them, they don't cope with anything. They're all probably hiding until the battle calms down."

"Hm… perhaps..." said Peridot, in thought only to be interrupted as they heard a sneeze off in the distance. With the obvious cue, the Crystal Gems along with the friendly Amethysts made their way and found half a dozen people huddled behind a rock.

"Well, that was easy."

"What is making that awful noise?!" whispered one of the humans to the Famethyst, only to stumble back when he noticed the other strange Gems, "And who are you?!"

"Relax, we've come to help," assured Garnet, "We're friends with Steven."

"Really?! You know Ste-van?"

"Oh you can't be serious…" moaned Jasper, disgusted by the cowardice in front of her, but Garnet hushed her and kept going.

"Yes, but Steven isn't here right now. He wanted us to check up on you to make sure you're all safe."

"Aw," one of the humans said, "That's so nice of him!"

"And you can help us," she continued, "If you get all your friends in one place. That way we can watch over you and make sure nothing bad happens."

The people seemed to like the thought and thus went off to find the others. While they were noticeably jittery thanks to the unfamiliar situation, they managed regardless and eventually about forty people clad in identical indigo tribal-esque outfits were grouped in front of the Crystal Gems.

"Alright," she proceeded, "That's everyone, right?"?"

"Looks like it," said one of the Famethysts.

"You don't sound too confident," noticed Jasper.

"What? We're told to only come here when one of them gets injured and stay out otherwise. Besides, they do some really _weird _things in here…"

"Is Ste-van coming back?" asked one of the women of the group, raising her hand like a child in class.

"Steven will be checking up on you after a little while," Garnet replied, adjusting her shades as she did so. Some of the humans smiled warmly at this news. "Now we all just need to stay here so nothing bad happens."

And so, like a happy classroom of children, the people sat together and waited for their friend to come back. With the reassurance of _Ste-van's_ return, they were content even if the little voice that normally guided them was still quiet.

* * *

Red Diamond had to hand it to the architects behind the Human Zoo, they did an impressive job. When she would inevitably remodel the place as she would with the rest of the Gem Empire once she had her way, she would credit the original designers. On top of being visually pleasing, it also made another part of her plan easier.

The demented matriarch was in another chamber in the zoo itself, idly waiting as her forces stormed the place. Her room was much like the one where the Rose Quartzes she was after were stored and judging from the multiple murals depicting the fallen Pink Diamond, she put together this was a sort of shrine. One that she would discard since there would be no need for it once she was in charge…

She then looked down at the translucent red dome containing the majority of the Gem guards. The various Amethysts and Jaspers were clearly searching for a way out, collaborating on an escape when they were not throwing insults at the Diamond before them. While her kin may have been annoyed by their defiance, Red actually thought it was highly amusing. Just as she started to wonder how she would modify them once she was done here, something caught her attention.

A deafening bang rang out, coming from outside the room. Judging from the five-foot-wide dent in the metal, it looked like someone punched it. Another dent to match appeared right next to it and another and another until finally, the Diamond-sized door fell away with a massive clang.

"Of course you'd be in here," snarled an extremely angry Blue Diamond.

"Well, I'll be!" replied Red casually, "You actually took the initiative for a change."

Blue looked at the hostages, the back to Red, "Let them go… and leave this place!"

"Oh and why would I logically do that?" she asked, "I was just about to send the ransom notice to Steven and I think he'd like to know what's happened to all these helpless Gems. Would you really deny him the chance to save innocent lives?"

"Is that what other Gems are to you?! Just pawns to be used in your power struggle?!"

"Oh no, I assure you that if he doesn't collect them I will put them to excellent use. Much better use than maintaining this obsolete relic…"

The two Diamonds stared eye to eye, neither one flinching until Blue's head suddenly looked downwards.

"Oh and what a surprise, you're about to start crying. Perhaps you'd be able to overcome your grief if you stopped making these monuments to Pink and just moved on already and-"

Before she could finish, Blue Diamond suddenly rushed at her at breakneck speed and dealt a heavy blow at Red's gut, causing the maniacal Diamond to stagger in pain and surprise!

"You talk too much…"

As the captive Gems cheered at seeing Red get blindsided, Blue Diamond sent a punch straight at Red's face and forced her back again. Before she could get a third hit, though, Red stopped her fist and glared at her.

"Really?! You think _you_, the most passive Diamond of all, can defeat me?"

"I may not be much of a fighter," grunted Blue as the Diamonds locked hands and began pushing against each other, "But if there's one thing Steven's made me realize…"

Suddenly Blue let go and sent her foot straight into Red's torso and forced her against the wall. "Is that I can change!"

Red face twisted into one of frustration, she then stood back up, her hands began to glow as she did so. "Oh is that so? Well, let's find out if you can!"

A searing blast of energy flew from her hands, forcing Blue to duck as it made a dent in the wall. Once she straightened up, Blue sent her own blast at only for it to be dodged as well. They each leaped to opposite sides of the massive chamber with the Famethysts watching in awe as they each started shooting rapid-fire blasts at each other. Every time Blue's smoother looking shots met Red's fiery ones a purple explosion rang out until suddenly Red raced forward and grabbed Blue by her hair.

She proceeded to yank her head down while also gripping her dress with her other hand and then literally threw Blue Diamond into the wall. Rather than stay embedded in the pink crystal, Blue just yanked herself out and sent a flurry of fists. It only stopped when she decided to sweep Red's legs and send the mad scientist tumbling. Before she could get up, though, a wave of intense sadness overtook her. The room was literally being filled by a blue cloud causing the captive Gems to start bawling uncontrollably as Blue stood over her opponent.

"I'm surprised you can feel this, Red, given how you are. Ever since you showed up all you ever felt was ambition. We tried to reason with you, find a solution, or even just compromise so we could all get along."

"That's a lie! You wanted me to shut down my experiments or be exiled! Where's the compromise there?!"

"You were experimenting on innocent Gems just doing their jobs, Red. You can claim how it's all for the betterment of us, but that doesn't change how unethical it is. You take Gems and force them to be some monstrosity all for what? 'Progress?' And you think that's worth it?"

"Don't you _dare _lecture me, you murderer! How many Gems did you sentence to death?! You almost did the same to Steven and all for some paltry revenge!"

"You're right…" admitted Blue, "I've done horrible things to Gems who may not have deserved them. I'm just as responsible as the others for chasing Pink away and now I'll never be able to make things right."

Blue then forced Red onto her feet and stared her in the eye. "This mourning you feel? This is how I've spent the past few _millennia_ and I'm still not done. This pain will never go away fully, but now I know one thing. As much as I miss Pink and as much as I hate some of the things I've said and done, I hate you _even more_."

Blue then filled her hand with energy and sent it point-blank into Red's stomach. As her foe stumbled, she did it again as her anger built. Again and again, she rammed blast after blast into her until Red toppled and laid helplessly on the floor.

"I may be emotional, and that's hurt me before, but now I'll use it to actually make progress. Little by little I'll keep improving, but you'll refuse to change. It's pretty pathetic, actually."

"Pathetic…?" muttered Red under her breath, "Did you just…call me pathetic?!"

Suddenly, Red lifted herself off the ground. A powerful red aura surrounded her body as she started to tense. Blue was unsure of what was happening, but she got noticeably worried when she saw this new aura start to overpower her own.

"I'LL SHOW YOU PATHETIC!" screamed Red as her face was contorted with rage. Her aura quite literally exploded, waves of energy sending cracks along the walls and pushing Blue back. Blue was only just barely able to recover as Red rushed at her with murderous intent in her eyes. Just as she was going to claw at her, Blue was just barely able to grab at her arms and fling her to the side. Red immediately recovered, though, and rushed at her again. All the careful calculating and cocky remarks were gone as Blue frantically dodged as best as she could. Meanwhile, the captive Famethysts were starting to genuinely hope the force field around them is as indestructible as Red Diamond advertised. They would much rather be prisoners at this point than being caught in this madness.

* * *

Steven meanwhile had his hands full dealing with Red Pearl. After managing to get the gem monstrosity off of him, she then used her tail to slam him against the wall several feet away! Thankfully he was just barely able to cushion the blow with a bubble that threatened to pop from the impact.

He knew he could not defend forever, but what could he do against something like this? He did not have much time to think as the monstrous Gem took an enormous leap into the air. As the mutated pearl rapidly started to fall, her metallic legs began to change until they were two massive blades pointed right at him. Steven, in a second of panic, held out his shield, expanding it to five times its normal size, turning it into a massive barrier. The Pearl smirked, thinking she would tear right through it, only to be bounce off it harmlessly. While she shifted her legs back to normal, she was still confused. How did that stop her?

"Man, Steven," admitted Bismuth, "I knew I made that thing well, but now you're just showing off!"

Hearing the blacksmith gave Steven an idea. Even now, he doubted to could fight this thing alone but he needed to get that gaggle of Gems away from his family. When Red Pearl came at him again, he leaped into the air and plunged straight into the circle. The enemy group was confused and it gave him the perfect opportunity to use his sword and poof a few of them before they could react. With this on their sides, the others were reinvigorated and even Holly Blue seemed grateful until they all managed to rejoin into one group.

"Impressive thinking, Steven," praised Pearl, "Now we've got a much better chance against this monstrosity!"

"Could you maybe bring Lion back, though?" asked Lapis, still feeling some anxiety as the remainder of Red's smaller droogs gathered behind them.

"Sorry, but I don't know where he went," admitted the boy, "But knowing him, he'll come back."

"How do you all cope with this insanity?" asked a very confused Holly Blue.

"Fighting no matter what is exactly what the Crystal Gems are all about!" boasted Bismuth as she charged straight at Red Pearl with an axehead for a hand.

Speaking of the big pink furball, he was currently running down a hall when suddenly, he used his roar to open a portal! He landed inside the forcefield holding the Famethysts hostage, much to the group's surprise.

Before any of them could shout and blow his cover, though, he simply opened a portal and gestured towards it as if saying, _Here's the way out. Scram!_

* * *

While that was happening, the two Diamonds were still tussling. After Red's first explosion, she managed to regain some of her usual composure but not all of it. She still seemed to be aiming to kill as she lobbed energy blasts all over the room, several holes in the walls showing where she missed when she was not trying to beat the other matriarch into oblivion. Blue, meanwhile, kept her calm the entire time and was focused more on defense and only retaliating when she saw an opening. Given her lack of fighting experience, she knew the last thing she needed was to waste energy.

The duo met in a flurry of attacks, Blue deflecting as much as she could while Red hammered away at her defenses. While she managed to get some hits in, it also left her open when Blue grabbed her by the arm and threw her into the floor.

The two Diamonds finally stopped, catching their breath as they felt all the fight drain out of them. Despite their obscene strength and power, neither of them were made for direct combat.

"This is over, Red…" huffed Blue, "You've lost…"

"Is that what you think?" griped Red, "I still have many advantages over you…"

She then pulled a strange-looking red cube out of her hair and crushed it in her hand, sending a wave of energy through the room.

"What was that? What did you just do?!" yelled Blue.

"Oh, you didn't think I didn't have a few surprises in store for you?" she snarked back, regaining her usual cockiness, "Now then… I'll be taking my hostages and leaving."

Blue looked upset before she glanced behind the megalomaniac… and started laughing.

"What? What's so funny?! Is me kidnapping Gems from your precious Earth a joke to you?!"

"What Gems? I don't see any in there."

Red turned around, fuming until she laid eyes on the force field. The force field with _absolutely nothing in it_. Every single Gem inside just disappeared without a trace! Blue could not help but laugh her head off as she saw her foe get completely duped.

Red, however, had a look of silent rage on her face at this deceit. "You… You…"

"Oh, I wish I did, but no, it looks like Steven's more resourceful than you thought.

"Well then, let's see how resourceful he, his paltry team and the ordinary Gems you have stationed here like fighting my forces with nothing holding them back!"

And with that, Red Diamond raised her arms and summoned a warp stream around herself to return to her ship.

* * *

Speaking of Steven, he and the rest of the group were actually doing fairly well. The troops were easy to manage, allowing some of the other Gems to help Steven fight off Red Pearl.

Bismuth, seeing this slowly growing advantage said, "Ha! Is this the best you can do!"

However, it seemed as though her question was answered as the remaining Gems began to glow faintly for a few seconds.

"Uh… what's going on?" said Lapis, worried as to what that glow might mean. She had a good cause for alarm as Red Pearl's allies started changing. Suddenly they were not surrounded by standard-issue Gems, but by the bizarre, experimental creatures! No two were alike with each one having a different number of limbs, heads and possessing a series of nasty surprises.

"What in the world?!" shouted Holly Blue as one Gem lashed out her tongue and grappled her arm.

"Looks like Red Diamond's officially stopped going easy on us," said Pearl as she was being cornered by two extremely muscular Rubies that were almost twice her size.

Bismuth had to pretty much tackle the Gem holding Holly Blue with their tongue in order to release her. Lapis, on the other hand, went to help Pearl Deal with the two huge Rubies, just barely pulling them pack with a stream of water. "I got your back Pearl!"

"Thanks!" Pearl then looked at Steven's fight and saw that he was still having some trouble. A trio of Spinels, each of different sizes and shapes, were ganging up on Steven and granting Red Pearl some backup. One of them was actually able to dodge or parry all of Steven's attacks while the other two were able to land some blows of their own, striking the hybrid with oversized fists. "_Steven_!" she said in shock. Her maternal instincts overrode all logic as she charged forward, bowling over any Gem getting in her way and was at his side.

"Get away from him, you abominations!" she shouted as the two were surrounded.

"Pearl, are you sure about this?" asked a wary Steven, panting slightly from exhaustion.

"Are you back-sassing me, young man?!" yelled Pearl in her sternest voice.

"Nope! Happy for the help!"

"Good, because the last thing I'm ever doing is letting you get hurt again."

"Same here for you. But I don't see a way out of this… Unless…"

"What?"

Steven then gave her a confident look, then she realized what he meant, "Oh. Well, I… Okay, let's do this!"

Steven then set up a large gem bubble in the form of a dome. "Let's hurry," he said beginning to concentrate. After a second, his gem began to glow through his shirt. Pearl began to focus as well, her gemstone also glowing as a result. Much to the bewilderment of their opponents, the two began to dance. While Pearl's was a refined ballet that was pure grace, Steven's was a more chaotic and less coordinated mix that borrowed from multiple genres that he perused through the internet. As different as they looked, though, they moved to the same rhythm that grew until they met in the middle in what appeared to be a hug.

Suddenly there was a flash of light and the bubble disintegrated into shards of light. In place of Steven and Pearl stood a single figure holding a bright pink umbrella...

They were slightly taller than Pearl and had an athletic figure like Steven, only slimmer. They also had literal pink skin and hair that shifted from pink to a lighter purple with some lighter blue thrown in. This new figure wore a teal jacket that slowly changed to pink going down the sleeves and torso along with a cropped black t-shirt that was black with the same star from Steven's shirt. Completing the ensemble was a pair of dark blue cropped jeans that went down to below the knee and a pair of simple, laceless shoes.

But the oddest thing about this person was the literal four eyes on their face! A pair of wide, brightly-colored ones sat on top of a darker, narrower pair. The final touch was the two polychromatic gemstones on their body, a smooth, round one on the forehead and a hexagonally cut one in place of a navel.

As the new fusion settled, the room was silent. The enemy forces were interested, mildly amused as to what this new figure was capable of, but the Crystal Gems were more enthusiastic.

"Oh ho, now you clods are in trouble!" boasted Bismuth, "Rainbow Quartz is here!"

"Yeah…" admitted an unusually smug Lapis, "You shouldn't have done that."

The only exception was Holly Blue who looked ready to vomit at the sight, but she kept her mouth shut.

"Hello, there!" greeted the new fusion, standing under their umbrella, like it was a casual meeting, "I am Rainbow Quartz 2.0, but you may call me Rainbow for convenience's sake. While I am quite capable of defeating you all, I would much prefer to simply resolve our little spat with words. Any takers?"

The group of Spinels looked at the flamboyant new Gem and laughed at the suggestion. One of them then decided to launch a punch straight into Rainbow's face just to silence them…

...And missed by a country mile. The Gem was now standing behind them as if nothing happened.

"Oh dear… It looks like I'm going to have to get colorful. More so than usual anyway…" tittered the fusion as they closed their umbrella…

Only for part of the handle to glow a bit. They pulled at it, and suddenly a sword came out! The umbrella had a hidden katana in it!

The fusion was suddenly _very_ serious. Then Rainbow moved swiftly, poofing the Spinel they dodged in one swift slash!

"Just remember this is all your doing…" they whispered before leaping into the air straight at Red Pearl with the sword ready to strike. The monstrous Gem immediately dodged and readied one of her hands to blow them away, only to find Rainbow jumping in mid-air and sending a kick straight into her face. The kick sent her head reeling back, but that was not the end of it as the fusion's feet flew at a breakneck speed. Blow after blow rained down on the Pearl before she roared in defiance and sent her stinger to impale the fusion. She failed not because she missed, but because Rainbow Quartz used their umbrella to deflect the blow.

A few mutant Gems had the idea to ambush the fusion while they were distracted, but that proved to be a fruitless effort as Rainbow just dodged everything they tried and quickly struck them all down.

Each of the Crystal Gems were all shocked at this display of power and skill. Even Holly Blue, despite still being thoroughly disgusted by the fusion, was genuinely impressed by their capabilities. Red Pearl, however, was angered, and immediately tried to slash Rainbow with her tail, only for the fusion to easily parry her attack with their sword and umbrella! After leaping back a few feet, they said, "Alright… where were we?" before brandishing their sword again, ready to fight back.

However, despite this, and the dead stare Red Pearl seems to give them, she then began to shapeshift to her regular form, much to everyone's surprise!

"Well then," spoke the Pearl once she was fully regressed, "It seems we are both full of surprises."

"Wait, that's it?" asked Lapis, "You're just giving up?"

"For now, yes, but that's only because My Diamond has many plans in the works at once. She is a level of brilliant above all of you and-"

"You keep talking like that," interrupted Bismuth, "And I'm gonna kick your butt! Spit it out!"

"As cliche as it might sound, this won't be the last you'll see of us. Perhaps we will test the power of more of your fusions next time, Steven."

Red Pearl then warped herself out of the room, but the rest of her allies stayed.

"Hm, some commanding officer," criticized Holly Blue, "Even I wouldn't just abandon my subordinates."

"Then we should stay alert," advised Rainbow, "And once this whole song and dance show is done, we can get to more fun affairs. Shall we rendezvous with the others, then?"

"Odds are, they're all back in the habitat," said Bismuth, "Let's go!"

The group charged off with Rainbow Quartz taking the lead, literally blazing the trail by flying on their umbrella at breakneck speeds. With some of the immediate seriousness gone, the fusion was grinning giddily as they zoomed through the corridors. Even with Red Diamond's forces chasing after the group, clearly still eager for battle, the Crystal Gems felt more optimistic than ever.

* * *

Compared to the chaos going on in the chamber with the Rose Quartz gems, the habitat was still peaceful. That all changed, though, when a strange red wave suddenly swept through the room.

"What was that?!" said one of the humans.

"I'm scared!"

"Where's Steven now?!"

"Everyone, calm down!" spoke Garnet reassuringly, "I can assure you he's on his way. Just remain calm until then."

However, now the humans were thoroughly spooked. Fear started taking hold of them and soon many of them were begging the little voice to tell them everything would be alright.

"Oh, perfect," groaned Peridot, "Now they'll all start behaving irrationally."

"Yeah, your people skills still kinda stink," quipped Amethyst, "And Jasper's about as cuddly as rabies, so she's no help here."

"I heard that!" snapped the orange Gem.

"Yeah, I know, but it's true."

"Cool it," said Garnet, "Just let me handle this." before walking up to the group and trying to resolve the situation.

"Okay, everyone, I know you're all really scared, but I need you to do one thing for me."

She then held up a destabilizer in her hand and turned it on.

"I need you to poke yourself with this, one at a time. Trust me, it's a present Steven wanted you to have."

The group of humans was wary, but hearing it was from one of their friends put them at ease. The first one of the group took hold of the device and poked himself in the stomach, causing a series of yellow sparks to run through his body. The others all gasped in horror, only to be amazed when the man turned out to be totally fine.

"Wow, that was neat!" he cheered, "Ste-van is the greatest!"

Jasper looked at him weirdly, stunned that he actually liked it, but chose to shrug it off and watched the device go to the next human. This one, a dark-haired woman, took it and went through the same, gigging that the funny lights tickled. The third one, though, seemed very reluctant.

"W-wait… I don't want to!" he exclaimed as he backed away. At that point Jasper put up a sick grin.

"What's the matter?" she asked brandishing her own device, "Afraid of a little shock?"

The man merely took another step back, looking frightened at the object in her hand. This got a few of the Gems suspicious. They silently formed a circle around the man until he finally dropped to the ground and begged for help.

"I want Steven!" he screamed, getting many of the other people to feel sorry for him. The Gems were less sympathetic.

"I thought his name was 'Ste-van' to you all?" asked Jasper cockily before jamming the device into the man. Unlike the others, he screamed in pain until he leapt twenty feet into the air. When 'he' landed, there was a magenta Gem with a very angry expression on her face, shocking the real humans who were there.

"You need to get better at keeping your cover," taunted Garnet before turning to the two Famethysts, "Get the real humans far away. We'll handle this one."

"Did you really think I was in here alone?" responded the now angered Spinel. Nine of the other humans suddenly changed into more Spinels and formed an elastic chain ensnaring them all.

"What the!?" exclaimed Amethyst, "You guys are sick! First, you kidnap the Famethysts, now you'll use them as hostages?!"

"What can we say," boasted one of the Spinels, "We've got nothing to lose!"

"All that matters is that our Diamond gets more study material!" added another.

"Even shattering us means nothing as long as Red Diamond succeeds!"

"And these organic wastes will be a great asset to her research!"

"And if you take one wrong step, we'll just start ending them! Red Diamond will understand the sacrifices…"

"...Unless one of you wants to go in their place? She's always eager for volunteers!"

"Or perhaps you turn over Steven? Then she might let these people go."

"Uh, let me think about that…" Amethyst said sarcastically, "Not gonna happen!"

One of the Spinels then had a sinister grin, "Very well then… I guess Red Diamond will just have to blow this whole place up!"

* * *

**OH MAN _ANOTHER_ CLIFFHANGER! Heheh! Milo and I kinda like them. Either way, please leave a review. See you next chapter. Oh, and Happy Thanksgiving!**


	15. Chapter 15

Hey, everyone, Milo and I were able to do a pretty cool chapter! I hope you enjoy.

Please don't compare this story to Future unless absolutely necessary.

Anyway, please leave some reviews in the future, pun intended. I love to hear what you all think. Please enjoy!

**Chapter 15: Countdown**

Red Diamond looked out of her ship's main viewport at the Human Zoo, smirking despite all the setbacks she faced. Even Blue Diamond's taunting could not get her mood down. Why should she feel bad when her intellect could still win the day?

A few moments later, her faithful Pearl entered behind her. Without looking, the matriarch addressed her. "Back so soon?"

"Yes, My Diamond, but I am happy to report that it was because of Steven fusing with his Pearl to form an impressive new fusion."

"Ah yes, he never ceases to amaze me! All the more reason to prioritize him over all the others."

She then turned and looked down on her Pearl. "Since he is shown to be far more powerful than he appeared, we will have to corner him not with force but with the one thing he can't resist; heroism. Prime the detonators, Pearl."

"At once," saluted the servant as she set off to do her master's bidding. The Diamond gazed out at the space station once again, eager to finally have her hands on Steven Universe.

* * *

Meanwhile, the Gems in the habitat were shocked.

"Destroy this place!?" Jasper asked, "Are you insane?"

"Um, that's a given," snarked Peridot, "But more to the point, why?! You'd kill all these people for nothing?!"

"Oh, not for nothing," answered a Spinel, "For Steven. He's still our master's biggest target."

"All the humans and Gems on board might have been nice, but Steven is irreplaceable," added another one, entirely unconcerned that she might die today.

This fact alone unnerved everyone, especially Jasper. Not only was she creeped out by what they were saying, but also dumbfounded at this sadistic sense of loyalty these Spinels had to Red Diamond.

The Crystal Gems had much more to worry about, though, when the door to the habitat was blown down. When they saw who it was, though, their fears were assuaged.

"Guys, about time you showed up!" joked Amethyst.

"And you brought Rainbow Quartz!" smiled Garnet.

"Well now, it seems like you were having a great deal of fun without us,"

"Well…" Rainbow said playfully, "I'm not entirely sure about fun, but…" They said that with a childlike smirk that enticed a chuckle from Amethyst.

Jasper, on the other hand, was quietly tense at seeing another successful fusion she hasn't seen before…

"This changes nothing!" insisted one of the Spinels, "One wrong move and these humans will be endangered!"

"Or Red Diamond might just destroy this whole base!"

"Oh, great," moaned Lapis, "Something else to worry about."

"Oh, you haven't the faintest idea!" spoke a voice from inside the room that none of them recognized.

The Crystal Gems wheeled around and saw the source of the voice. One of the Spinels was projecting a screen with Red Diamond's visage looking down at them.

"I have many goals in mind! Unlike the other Diamonds, I am not limited by a one-track mind. I could always use more test subjects from the guards stationed here, but I also desire the last Rose Quartz gems in existence! Even beyond that, I could capture these humans in order to further my research! Above all, however, I hoped that it would bring you here. Given your past with your mother and how hopelessly sentimental Blue Diamond is, it was the perfect bait!"

"That's despicable!" shouted Peridot.

"Says the Gem who was once sent to monitor a Gem Cluster that was originally meant to destroy the entire planet it slumbered in…" said the Diamond.

"So, this is your ultimatum," said Garnet, "You're going to blow up this whole station unless Steven hands himself over to you."

"Well, it seems your future vision is effective. I must look into adding that to my troops."

Amethyst interrupted her. "If you think we're just gonna hand over Steven, then you've got another thing coming, you cracked creep!"

"Well then, the only other option is demolishing this whole place with all of you inside."

"Um, wouldn't that kill Steven too?!" yelled Bismuth.

"Considering that bubble of his survived planetary re-entry and let him breathe in the vacuum of space, he should be able to withstand one little explosion."

"Okay," interrupted Rainbow, "If I may ask, how exactly do you know all of this about Steven?!"

"I have my ways. Now then, you have one hour to reconsider." And with that, the transmission ended. The Gems were once again looking at the Spinel soldiers around them.

"Well?" one of the Spinels asked, "We're waiting!"

The humans who were there, however, were terrified. The only barely understood what was happening around them, but they could tell that it was not good...

Suddenly before anyone could say another word, a portal appeared just above them!

"What the-!?" The same Spinel began in shock, only to be tacked a split-second later. It was one of the Famethysts!

Indeed, the Famethysts were popping out of the portal with Lion alongside them! With the surprise appearance of over a dozen friendly Gems on their side, the Crystal Gems suddenly felt much more confident.

"Ha!" goaded an elated Amethyst, "Now we're gonna kick all your crazy butts!"

Unfortunately, they were not the only surprise as dozens upon dozens of Red Diamond's troops poured into the habitat from the broken down door. It was far more than just the group pursuing Rainbow Quartz's gang as it seems they went off to gather any Gem who could help.

"You were saying?"

The groups stared at each other. The only noise in the room was the humans, still surrounded by the Spinels, shivering in anticipation of an obvious brawl until suddenly both sides were off.

Rainbow Quartz was quickly dogpiled, being seen as the biggest threat, but a bubble shield around them fixed that. In a flash the fusion was off, wielding their parasol with unbelievable skill. When they were not dancing around every blow sent at them, Rainbow quickly slashed any Gem down to size in an instant. No soldier was even able to touch them, but Red's forces had plenty of other opponents. The Famethysts couldn't help but cheer Rainbow on, as they've never seen a Gem quite like them before, let alone a Fusion. Their cheering stopped, however, when they turned around and saw one of their own petrified into a golden statue.

"What the?! How did that happen?!" yelled one of the Jaspers of the group before getting her answer as something seemed to race up behind her one moment before she was similarly turned into gold.

The group was on high alert as the shape started dashing for Rainbow Quartz until someone else rushed in and punched the attacker across the room.

"Garnet!" Rainbow said cheerfully, "Aren't you just a sight for sore eyes!"

Garnet smiled at them for a second. "I've got this one. Try to get those humans free."

As Rainbow raced off, the new Gem quickly tried to ambush her. Unfortunately for her, she picked to surprise the one Crystal Gem who could see the future and was kicked in the head for her troubles. Now that she managed to get her foe to slow down, she saw that this new Gem seemed to resemble a realistic statue made out of molten gold from head to toe. In fact she seemed to have no discernable facial features at first because of this. She wore a uniform similar to what a Topaz would wear, but with the addition of a skirt and elbow, length fingerless gloves. Her Gemstone, shaped like a coin, was on her forehead.

"What the?" Jasper said, seeing this new foe "Who are you supposed to be!?"

The new gem looked at her, emotionless, save for a slight frown. She spoke only one word in response to Jasper's question with a slow calm voice, "Aurum."

"And I don't care!"

Jasper charged at Aurum with her crash helmet out, but the golden Gem dodged to the side. She almost laid her paralyzing grip on the bruiser before Jasper landed a blow of her own. Aurum did not have much to time follow-up, though, as Garnet was behind her and quickly started overpowering her. While her speed and stealth were very impressive, it seemed Aurum had little experience with direct combat. After enough of a beating from both Gems, Aurum was poofed and reduced to a harmless gold coin.

While that battle went well, others were not so fortunate. Bismuth and the sole Carnelian of the Famethysts were contending with two Spinels along with seemed to be a blue-colored Topaz who had the ability to shoot lasers from her eyes. Including the ones on the palms of her hands.

"Do you have any secrets about this place that would help?" asked Bismuth as she was grappling with a Spinel, "Because I need to get this stretchy freak off of me!"

"Nope, I never came in here," responded the shorter Gem, trying to dodge lasers while talking, "Holly Blue would have my gem if I snuck in here, the clod."

"I heard that!" cried the Agate.

"Good!"

"Focus!" shouted Bismuth as she managed to grapple the Spinel by the throat and toss her into the air. Once she was free, the blacksmith ran over to the mutant Topaz and quickly dealt with her. Even after taking a laser blast to the arm, she plowed on through and used a hand-turned-axe to decapitate the Gem and poof her.

Peridot was still putting her tractor beam wand to good use as, while not skilled at hand-to-hand combat, she was a specialist in technology. Whenever a stray from another battle tried picking her off, they were quickly grabbed and tossed around like ragdolls.

Lapis was taking advantage of the environment, namely the giant lake in the habitat, to wreak havoc on any of Red's droogs that tried to attack her. While she did find the occasional Gem who could either fly or tried leaping to her height, a hand of water appeared and smacked them out of the air like flies.

Meanwhile, Rainbow continued to make short work of their opponents, that umbrella katana came in super handy. One of the Spinels from earlier tried latching onto them, but all that got was being flung overhead before being poofed.

Rainbow then said, "Well now, this is getting a bit stale…"

"Agreed," Garnet said.

"Are you mocking us?!" shouted one of the Spinels. Despite the chaos of the area, all ten of them were still maintaining their position around the humans.

"Now now, I wouldn't go that far… It's simply that your group underestimated the spectacular abilities of the Crystal Gems, an easy but costly mistake."

Now all ten of them were peeved and, much to Rainbow's surprise, all of their gems began glowing.

"You're not the only ones with fusion!" they spoke in unison before their bodies melted into liquid. Their bodies all gathered at one point before the blob exploded in size to being on par with Yellow and Blue Diamond in height. Three different heads appeared on the colossus' massive shoulders with four arms appearing on each side. Then, just to make the vision even more threatening, a magenta tentacle appeared out of her back and wrapped itself around all the humans like an enormous tail! The people quickly started crying and panicking, but the gargantuan Spinel ignored it all and then absorbed them all into her body.

The entire battlefield went dead-silent at the arrival of this monstrosity. While Red's forces were all smirking, the Crystal Gems and their allies were freaking out.

"Oh, terrific."

"SWEET SPIRAL GALAXIES, WHAT IS THAT?!"

"Okay, that's just insane!"

"Should've seen that coming…"

"It's Spinelzilla!"

Amethyst's name actually seemed to amuse the giant as she gave a devilish grin before taking one massive step, shaking the entire room underfoot. Even Rainbow Quartz's usual bravado was briefly gone.

"Now this… Might be just slightly difficult…"

* * *

Meanwhile, Blue Diamond was making her way down the giant-sized corridors designed specifically for her. She wished she could reunite with Steven and ensure his safety, but she did not have the faintest idea where he was. Her best guess would be the habitat, but how to get there? Even in all her trips here, she often just made her way to the bubble room and then left.

She was distracted from her thoughts by a ringing sound coming from her gemstone. She quickly summoned her personal communicator and found the call was from her Pearl.

"My Diamond," greeted the morose servant, "I have just intercepted a recent transmission from Red Diamond. I assumed you would be interested."

"Show me."

Her demented sister's entire spiel played out, though missing some context since it was half of the conversation. Even still, now Blue knew everything.

"That… Little…" she growled, "She'd actually shatter all these Gems… I'm going to-"

"Pardon the interruption, My Diamond," spoke her Pearl, "But I have also taken the liberty of having a cursory scan of the base done by your technical staff. They have found that the explosives in question have been planted in the infiltration points her pods used to enter the base."

"Show me." Blue was then presented with a holo-screen showing the locations for each of the bombs.

"From what they could gather, the bombs have already been primed and the countdown has begun. They would have to be physically removed from the base in order to avoid premature detonation."

The matriarch thought for a moment, wondering what kind of equipment she had that could work, before looking at her own two hands.

"Thank you, Pearl, I have an idea in mind. That will be all."

One brief salute later and the communicator was off while Blue was making her way back to the entrance she crashed into. Thanks to the massive hole she made in the main door, a massive sliding wall had been put up to keep the border between the vacuum of space. With no time to head to the controls, Blue once again burst the wall down and let herself be sucked into the void once again. Another airlock was thankfully deployed behind her, but she did not have time for that.

Now that she was in the vacuum, Blue propelled herself with a jump up towards the top spire of the zoo where she found a red sphere waiting for her. She gently laid her hands on it and with one tug she managed to pry it off without having it explode. The usually calm Diamond gave a smirk very much like her yellow counterpart and thought to herself.

"_Let's see if you're as smart as you think you are, Red."_

* * *

Spinelzilla roared at their faces, shaking the entire room as she dared any of her opponents to attack her. All of the Crystal Gems, even the likes of Garnet, had looks that ranged from nervous to horrified.

Holly Blue herself took one look at the thing… and promptly fainted. This earned the dutiful leader a round of facepalms from the Famethyst.

Rainbow may have hidden their fear well, but it was obvious even they were tense.

Then, all at once, the tension broke as the massive Spinel sent her eight colossal arms hurtling towards Rainbow. The fusion nimbly dodged, weaving and leaping through the air as limb after limb flew past them. Just as two more arms came at them, Rainbow changed strategies and held the fists apart as the Gem tried to crush them.

"Jeez, how strong are they?!" exclaimed one of the Famethysts as Rainbow actually succeeded in pushing the hands apart!

The other Crystal Gems were just as surprised save for Garnet who was beaming with pride. As dangerous as the situation was, she could not hide her happiness at just how far both Steven and Pearl had come.

Spinelzilla, though, was less than happy and finally stopped trying to squash Rainbow. In fact, she actually made all of her arms regress back into her body. The much smaller fusion was not sure what to think until their gargantuan enemy liquified her entire body and came at Rainbow like a living tidal wave!

"Goodness!" they exclaimed before summoning their parasol and rocketing away. The other Gems could hardly believe what they were looking at; a four-eyed pink samurai flying on a rainbow-spewing flying umbrella fleeing from a sentient magenta wave of liquid Gems.

"Heh," mocked Jasper under her breath, "Some fusion…"

"Just wait for it…" said Garnet. And sure enough, Rainbow suddenly turned around and flew straight at the magenta wave. Right before they touched it, Spinel's body reformed into solid mass and swallowed Rainbow.

"Hahahaha!" laughed Spinelzilla, "I've got you now, you-"

She was stopped when she suddenly felt a sharp pain in her gut, forcing her to double over. The others watched in awe as they saw a lump form on the giant's chest until Rainbow stabbed their way through with the katana!

"That'll teach you to get greedy with your food, young lady!" jested Rainbow as they floated to the ground with their umbrella whole again, resembling a certain practically perfect nanny.

Seeing her foe still not defeated, Spinelzilla roared in anger and formed two colossal arms. Her arms then morphed into ten-foot long blades and swung her left one at Rainbow. The fusion summoned a bubble to stop the blow. It managed to just barely do the trick with the makeshift weapons colliding with the bubble with a resounding thud! She went to swing again, only to find Rainbow was flying once again. This time the smaller fusion was soaring in circles around Spinelzilla before suddenly leaping off with their katana out again. They went for one of the many gems scattered on the titan's body, but before they could reach it, a human popped out over it.

"Someone help!" she cried, her body being curved over the stone like a literal meat shield. Rainbow immediately changed course and kicked off of the Spinel's body before her massive sword tried to slice them.

"Oh, really?!" cried Peridot, "You're actually going to use them as fodder?!"

"This just got profoundly more difficult," grumbled Rainbow, grateful they could pull back at the last minute. As they were lost in thought, though, Spinelzilla was still on point and managed to slam into Rainbow with the flat of one of her arms, sending the fusion flying into one of the habitat's walls hard enough to punch clean through.

"Ooooohhh…" winced the various Famethyst, all of them now staring at the hole they would have to patch up later.

Spinelzilla, however, was laughing her head off. "Ha, now I've learned how to beat you! I'll just keep using these humans and you won't be able to touch me!"

Lapis herself was mortified at this sight, seeing the humans trapped in this monstrosity. Amethyst was angry as well. "You're using hostages as like your toys? How low can you get!?"

And so, for several minutes, a pattern emerged with Rainbow mounting an offense in various ways only to have one of the captive zoo-people be shoved out right where they were going to strike. This meant having to rebound over and over again until finally even their energy began to slip and the thought of having to come apart become more and more tempting until Rainbow looked over at the other Gems in the room and had an idea.

Rainbow soon flew in for another round, looking to repeat the process. Spinelzilla grinned, thinking the next move was a foregone conclusion, but was surprised when a giant watery sledgehammer bashed her on the head.

"Hey," shouted Lapis, "Did you forget about me?"

"Or me, clod?!" boasted Peridot from the ground. At first it looked to be a hollow claim, only to be surprised when managed to pull down one of the tiles making up the ceiling of the habitat, much to the monster's shock. She immediately blocked with both her sword arms in order to avoid being sliced in half herself while the crowd was equally impressed.

"How?!" shouted Amethyst, her jaw nearly hitting the floor.

"Turns out the composition of Homeworld's building materials contains metal! Nothing is safe from me!" she had a look of manic joy in her face as she said that last sentence. Several of the Crystal Gems looked more terrified by that thought than the fifty-foot tall monster in front of them.

Eventually, the massive Spinel managed to push the enormous tile off of her and was now roaring mad. She started sprouting tendrils from her body to start attacking her many foes only to find Garnet flying straight at her. Spinelzilla pulled the same strategy and threw out one of her captives to throw her off.

"Nice try," smirked the much smaller fusion as she simply grabbed the man's hand and yanked him to safety.

"Huh?!"

"Future vision for the win!" yelled Amethyst as she took her turn along with several of the Famethyst by her side. Five purple Gems leapt in unison and all nailed her straight in the gut, forcing the massive fusion to topple over.

"Not so high and mighty now, are ya?!" declared Bismuth as she and Jasper both ran towards the fusion's legs with the clear intent to topple her. The towering Spinel tried the same trick by pushing two more captives out where they were poised to strike, only to find both of them being pulled out safely.

"Thank you!" said the woman Jasper just rescued. Rather than react, Jasper just dropped her like a rock once she was safe in the more overgrown part of the habitat and ran back into the action.

Realizing her old strategy was now failing her, Spinelzilla had to think of a new plan. Before she could very far, however, she saw Rainbow lounging on their umbrella and trying to grab her attention.

"Yoohoo! Up here! I'm still raring to go, unless you'd rather keep playing with my friends. I don't judge, if that's the case!"

That got under the titan's skin. It was one thing to be losing, but having someone treat it like a game? That finally did it for her as she opened her mouth and started literally firing the rest of humans she held prisoners like cannonballs one after the other.

Rather than panic like the Spinel was hoping, Rainbow summoned the biggest shield they could make and turned it in reverse so that it would catch everyone. The plan worked and soon Rainbow lowered the large makeshift platform to the floor bringing every human back to relative safety.

Needless to say, the Spinel monster was shocked at this outcome, and was starting to sweat a bit.

Rainbow then stood before it, a neutral look on their face, and spoke to the monstrosity before the group, "Alright, you have one final chance, leave. Retreat before this gets even worse for yourself."

There was a brief pause… then it was clear that the Spinel monster declined. She roared in anger as she grew two extra heads. Just when it could not get any weirder, she actually breathed a type of searing hot crimson and tried to roast the androgynous fusion alive.

Rainbow, with a serious look in their eyes, opened their umbrella and used it as a shield. And it proved to be QUITE the barrier as the energy simply bounced off while Rainbow ran straight for the fusion monster! Then, out of nowhere, they struck like lightning leaping all over the colossus until they suddenly landed in front of the group. At first, nothing seemed to happen and the Spinel prepared to attack again…

...Until a hairline fracture appeared on her left arm. Then another one on her right leg. A whole bunch of them appeared on her torso and soon all three of her heads rolled off her massive shoulders. The mighty titan literally fell to pieces as dozens of sword slashes appeared all at once all over her body. There was no sound in the room save for the massive fusion bursting into nothing but ten magenta stones that clattered to the ground.

Rainbow then landed gently on their feet. They held out their sword, twirled it slightly then placed in back into their umbrella.

Everyone had an internal reaction to what they just saw. Well, save for Holly Blue who just woke up. The Crystal Gems and Famethysts were all ecstatic with even Jasper looking satisfied to see the titanic monster fall. Red's other forces, however, realized just how bad of a position they were in. With their only getaway gone in order to plant the explosives and not set to come back until the one hour time limit was up, they realized they were now stuck in this space station with Rainbow Quartz and at least three dozen other enemies. They then took the smart route and ran headlong out of the room as fast as possible, gunning straight for the main entrance and choosing to throw themselves into space rather than contend with this kind of enemy.

"So much for sacrificing themselves," snarked Rainbow Quartz before receiving a round of applause from the other Gems and the humans who were awestruck by the fusion's achievement.

"Well, it's been a pleasure to entertain and serve you all, but I believe it's time I take my leave. Hopefully next time Red's droogs will be more reasonable and we can discuss our differences over a game of Academic Achievement!"

And with that, the fusion lit up before splitting into Steven and Pearl. While both of them were panting from the strain of being together for so long, they were both equally satisfied that the fighting was over.

"That. Was. Awesome!" Amethyst said, "You guys were like some, super samurai or something!"

Steven had a smile of modesty upon that praise, "Well… yeah."

"Who knew all those _Lonely Blade_ movies would actually seem plausible by comparison?" said Pearl, wondering if she should give those films a second chance.

"Wait," Lapis said, "Aren't we… aren't we forgetting something?"

Peridot immediately chimed in, "Yeah! What about the detonators!? This place is still poised to explode!"

"What…?"

Peridot's outburst earned a few unintentional reactions of fear from the humans. "O-Oh… Oops."

"Yes, that does indeed seem to be the case!" spoke Red Diamond from her holo-screen. "I must admit I'm impressed with the abilities of that Rainbow Quartz. All the more reason to study you up close, Steven."

The boy, however, was not intimidated. "Yeah, yeah, mad scientist stuff. Can you just go already? It's been a long day and these people have been through enough. I'm pretty sure it's flower-sniffing time."

"Haha, we'll aren't you quite the… defensive child…" Red said, "Are you really certain you'll risk everyone's lives on a whim?"

"How many times do we have to go through this?!" yelled Jasper, "He's not going! Beat it already!"

"And besides that," added Pearl, "I've got quite the workload at home that I must get to. Gutters don't clean themselves on Earth."

"Yeah, I'm just done with all this," agreed Lapis.

Red Diamond did not appreciate their flippancy. "A-Are you all cracked?! After all of this, after each ploy I've pulled and the danger you've been through, you're all treating this like some drawn-out game?!"

"That's how you've been treating it this whole time," retorted Garnet calmly, "Might as well play along."

One of Red's eyes visibly twitched. However, she was suddenly calm, "Very well… I suppose I have no choice. I can override the countdown on the detonators and set them off immediately instead." She then has a sinister smirk on her face.

Steven looked nervous at this threat, visibly worried. "Ah," Red continued, "_Now_ you are frightened." She then gave a sinister chuckle and seemed to reach for a button off-screen. "Feeling a bit more cooperative with me seconds away from destroying your friends?"

Before Steven could reply, Garnet walked up to him and whispered something in his ear. The boy then suddenly seemed far calmer as he crossed his arms and stared at her. "Do it."

"Wait, what?!" exclaimed everyone else in the room. Holly Blue almost fainted again.

"Can't I get a say in this?!" she shrieked.

"Yeah, we're with her!" yelled Carnelian, "We need to vote on this or something!"

"Steven, I've come to appreciate your confidence and superior emotional intelligence," admitted Peridot, "But perhaps this might be the time we use _logic?!_"

Steven did not answer, trying to keep his composure as he continued staring at the devilish smirk Red Diamond was giving. The humans on board, oblivious as they were, were also one step away from full-blown panic attacks.

"Steven!" said Pearl as she put herself in between the two, "What did Garnet say?! Tell me!"

"Oh dear," Red moaned, obviously enjoying the spectacle, "It seems you aren't the leader Pink Diamond was made out to be. I suppose you'll have to live with that grief once I hit _this!_"

Red pressed the button, causing everyone, even Jasper, to scream in terror. Steven even summoned a bubble on the incredibly slim off-chance that he was actually going to _die_…

...But nothing happened. Red's face went from evil glee to immensely confused in a second. One by one the people in the zoo opened their eyes and saw that they were perfectly fine. Steven lowered his bubble and let out a sigh of relief while flashing a thumbs-up to Garnet for the warning.

"W-we're alive!" cheered Amethyst, "Holy smokes, we're still alive!"

"Told you…" smirked Garnet.

Their joy only got better as the flustered Red Diamond pushed the button again and still nothing. Soon she started mashing the trigger hoping in vain that it was just a delayed reaction, but still nothing. Seeing the fearsome madwoman who tried holding them all hostage be reduced to this was too much for the group and soon they all fell on the floor laughing their heads off. Even the humans were in hysterics, just enjoying how positive the mood became, and the Famethyst were doubly amused seeing Holly Blue rolling on the ground with tears going down her face.

Once she finally stopped holding down the button, Red Diamond went from confused to enraged.

"WHAT DID YOU DO?! WHICHEVER ONE OF YOU DID THIS, I WILL PERSONALLY-"

"You know," spoke a tranquil voice from on-high, "I really must thank you for that talk earlier…"

A panel of the roof opened revealing Blue Diamond overlooking the entire scene. "If it weren't for that motivating me, I never would have thought to go outside and remove the bombs myself."

"Blue! You saved us!" shouted Steven as he leaped the entire distance from the ground to her viewing platform and hugged her face.

"No way!" said one of the Famethyst, "She did all that?!"

"Our Diamond is awesome!"

"I desperately need to be restationed…" grumbled Holly Blue, trying to nurse a headache.

"So," resumed Blue, "I must ask, Red, how did you get so distracted? I was outside the whole station the whole time, but you never spotted me once? What was Steven doing in here that kept your attention?"

"I'll explain later," assured the boy as he laughed at Red's expression. It was obvious she was trying to hold back a meltdown as she clenched her eyes and mouth shut. A second later, the feed showing her face was shut off. They then heard something in the distance.

"My Diamond," Blue's Pearl said in the zoo intercom, "The sensors are currently showing multiple ships leaving the area, Red Diamond's forces are retreating!"

All of the humans and gems, even Holly Blue, began to cheer at this news. The Crystal Gems, especially, were happy that they finally got one up on Red Diamond and saw her thoroughly defeated. Up above them, though, Blue and Steven were discussing something.

"Hey Blue, I know you really care about this place, but…"

"Hm? Is there something wrong with it? Does it need a new color?"

"No, that's fine, but I was just thinking. All those Rose Quartzes stuck in bubbles, even though they didn't do anything wrong."

"Are you suggesting I… let them go?"

"Yeah. I understand you want to remember Pink with them, but they're still alive. One of them got loose during the fight and she was super scared. She probably doesn't even know why she was just thrown away."

Blue looked at Steven for a moment, and then was in deep thought. In a few seconds, she spoke, "Yes… I believe you are right to suggest such a thing… They will be released. And since they are technically your Gems, it's only right you decide where they should go."

Stevven's eyes widened when he was told of that responsibility. He then remembered that he was technically a Diamond now too.

* * *

Later…

The one thing Steven didn't realize about the Zoo unil Pearl told him was that it wasn't just some simple space station, but a fully operational SPACESHIP! It didn't even take them that long to make it back to Earth!

Within the hour, They were already back on the planet, the Zoo overlooking the temple! This came as a shock to Greg, who was near the temple himself.

However, the first thing he saw was Steven, with an awkward look on his face. "Hey there, sport! Had a fun time in outer space?"

"Well, yeah, it was fine, but…"

"Hi!" greeted a very eager Rose Quartz that was following behind Steven. Greg immediately looked ready to have a heart attack.

"Yeah… Turns out I own every other Rose Quartz gem in existence." Steven explained, laughing nervously for a second, "All… 2,382 of them."

The Rose look-alike was happily staring at the sand and crashing waves like a small child at the beach for the first time. The men appreciated her being distracted since Steven was clearly uncomfortable with the thought of "owning" anyone else and Greg's mind was reeling from the thought of _thousands _of copies of his late lover being around him all at once, each one only slightly different from one another. Some were even picture perfect copies of the woman he loved...

"I'm not sure what to tell the other Gems, though… I think some of them should go back to Homeworld and help there, but how many? Any ideas?"

"Uhhhhhhh…"

"Are you okay?" chirped the Rose Quartz, "Is something wrong with your face?"

Steven noticed the same thing. "Hey, Dad? You feeling okay? You… look like your losing it..."

Rather than reply, Greg ran into van and burned rubber as he drove down the beach. If he listened carefully, Steven could swear he heard him yelling at the top of his lungs, his mind torn halfway between being ecstatic and terrified.

A few minutes later…

Pearl, Garnet, and Amethyst were all frozen in shock, as a LOT of Roses Quartz Gems were in the temple-house while the rest were playing outside, curious and happy.

"_We're gonna have to talk about this…"_ thought Garnet.

"_Man, I hope I can get some of these gals into wrestling! Purple Puma and her posse of Pink Panthers! That'd be sick!"_ thought Amethyst.

"_They're not Rose. They're not Rose. They're not the Rose you know, Pearl. Get those thoughts out of your head! As much as you want to, it'd be so many descriptions of wrong!" _thought Pearl as she brought out a paper bag of her gem and tried to control her breathing.

Bismuth was a bit uncomfortable at the sight, considering what she tried to do to Rose herself. She decided the best thing to do was head to her forge, bang out a few battle axes and keep her head cool until this all blew over. She may have been unsure about all the new faces, but she did have faith that Steven could fix it.

Jasper, on the other hand, was internally _enraged._ There were just way too many of… HER in the same room. While all of them had their differences, there were a few identical to Steven's mother and one look at them made her grind her teeth. It took all of her willpower not to go into a rage and attack any of them so instead she hopped onto a warp pad to go somewhere, anywhere, far away from all this and punch rocks to kill the time.

* * *

The only two who were not that shocked or angry were Peridot and Lapis Lazuli, as neither of them knew Steven's mom well enough for this to be weird. They merely watched from the cliff overlooking the house.

"This is going to be complicated," muttered Lapis.

"Yeah and there's no amount of meep-morps that's going to fix this," thought Peridot, "What all these Gems need is somewhere to direct their attention…"

"You mean besides at Pearl?"

Peridot blushed at that line. "Not like that! I mean an actual function. A place for them to truly be useful."

"Well, considering they're all soldiers, not sure what they can do."

"Hm… I'm not sure… they seem to be almost too playful to be soldiers…"

"Then why don't they just hang out with Black Diamond and his Pearl all day? They've got nothing better to do…"

"Guys!" spoke Steven as he ran up the hill behind them, "I'm really not sure what to do with all these Rose Quartzes! Pearl looks ready to explode, I think Jasper's disappeared, and I don't think I wanna know what my dad's doing! I'll take any ideas on what to do with all these extra Gems!"

* * *

Black Diamond looked at the scene before him and blinked. It was not every day someone literally brought over a thousand Gems to you out of nowhere.

"So… Let me get this straight," he started, feeling rather awkward despite literally standing over everyone, "You essentially _inherited _all of the Rose Quartz gems left in that Zoo."

"Yes." said Steven, rubbing his arm nervously.

"But since you're situation at your temple is complicated, you thought I could use them all?"

"Exactly! You said you only had your Pearl so it seemed fair!"

"Well… I won't deny that I've missed having more subjects- I mean, associates. But are you certain the others won't mind? The last thing I want is White on my back badgering me about protocol."

"Yeah, I thought that too. I was going to talk to her and see if she's willing to split them 50-50. That way she had more Gems helping on Homeworld and you have some friends for yourself!"

The patriarch rolled the idea over for a moment before smiling. "It sounds to me like you have impressive diplomacy skills."

"Yeeeah, that kinda comes with the territory."

"Wait, really?!" yelped Black Pearl, overhearing the entire conversation, "You mean I'm going to have almost 1,200 new friends?!"

Rather than be annoyed, the Diamond just laughed. "I suppose so, Pearl. Now you'll have someone to help you find that Nebraska place you've been searching for."

Steven stifled a laugh at Black Pearl's antics. He then proceeded, "Yeah, besides. It kinda doesn't feel right to just say that I 'own' these gems. They're their own people, able to choose what they want to do, what they want to be! I just wanna give that to them."

Black smiled warmly at this, "Spoken like a good friend. I expected nothing less from the young man who reformed the Diamond Authority.


	16. Chapter 16

**Hello there everyone! Sorry for the massive delay. Vacations and trips and such, anyway, her****e is a long-overdue chapter. Enjoy!**

Chapter 16: Friends?

Eventually, each of the Rose Quartzes was redistributed throughout the gem-owned planets. Black Diamond himself kept three of them to make his own personal staff, much to the delight of his Pearl. While he was touched by Steven's generosity, he simply did not have anywhere for so many Gems to go and thus had left a number of over 2,000 on the table for the others. The other Diamonds were questionable at this decision made by Black and Blue, but ultimately, they decided that it was for the best and allowed it, much to Steven's relief.

* * *

One week after that incident, a pair of friends were sitting on a Ferris wheel enjoying the relaxing atmosphere. It was also to celebrate that in exchange for saving the world from the Diamonds, Mayor Nanefua convinced Mr. Smiley to finally lift Steven's lifelong ban on all of the boardwalk rides.

"Okay, that… sounds pretty awkward," said Connie, relishing her relatively normal family life in comparison.

"You have no idea."

Steven then took a bite out of some cotton candy he was eating, "I almost called one of them 'Mom' for a second there." He then shuddered at the sheer memory of the awkwardness.

"So, now what? You think the other Diamonds will do something with all those new Gems?" asked Connie.

"Yeah, but I don't know what. I'm just glad they aren't stuck in bubbles anymore."

"At least there's a silver lining. Those Roses Quartzes will be able to actually live now!"

"Yeah, and I'm happy for them. It may be weird, but they're still innocent. Plus White Diamond even seemed really excited about it. It's really nice to see her finally open up and give those Gems a second chance."

The wheel began moving and raised their seat to the top of the wheel. From there, the duo looked out to see the growing neighborhood around the temple. And even some bits of the house, construction had begun on the expansions for the building.

"So, I see construction is underway," Connie said.

"Yup! The Gems are renovating everything, adding more space and a few new floors too! They're even getting help from a few Homeworld Gems with expanding!"

"Wow, who would've thought you'd be getting help with your construction projects from the aliens who were trying to blow up Earth with the Cluster."

"Yeah, it's pretty insane. In fact, I should probably bring that up to them too. Maybe there's a way to remove it… her?... The Cluster safely."

"Remember when the biggest problem we had was that stupid race with Kevin?"

"Ugh, don't remind me. That's one of the dumbest decisions I ever made. Pearl almost had a heart attack, too."

"But Gems don't have hearts…"

"Exactly."

A few minutes later, the two were back on the ground. Connie looked up at Steven, then looked down, blushing.

"What?" asked the boy.

"Sorry, it's just… you're way bigger now. You look older, so it just feels weird to me, y'know?"

"Yeah. Aging is still really weird for me. Peridot actually looked into it and thinks that my age is kind of, 'paused' for a while. Her best guess is I'll look seventeen until I actually turn seventeen."

"Oh… that's unusual."

"Yeah, but by then you'll catch up to me so there's nothing to worry abou- oof!"

Steven suddenly crashed into someone who was walking by, sending both of them falling to the ground.

"Oh man, sorry about that!" apologized Steven, only to stop when he saw who it was.

"Yeah, save it," scoffed Kevin, the boy's least favorite person in all of Beach City, "Just be lucky you didn't scuff my shoes…"

"Oh, brother," said Connie as she rolled her eyes, "Could you maybe drop the attitude for once? He said sorry."

"Hey, you're that little girl who hangs out with Steven. What're you doing with this guy?"

Both of them giggled at that. "I'm sorry, what?"

"You're always running around with that twerp in pink," he said as he looked over Steven, barely keeping his composure as the older teen stared at him. "So where'd this guy come from? Finally ditch him?"

"Um… Actually…" Steven tried to say, but by this point, he was laughing too hard. Connie could not hold it in herself and soon they were holding each other up.

"What?! What's the joke?"

"This guy is Steven, dumb-dumb!" laughed Connie.

"Really? Pretty sure he's like half this guy's size."

"What can I say? Growth spurt!"

"Prove it."

Steven then leaned over and whispered… something in Kevin's ear. The arrogant teen's eyes went wide as the truth hit him.

"You can't be serious!" Steven doubled over again and Connie was in heaps along with him. "S-stop laughing! It could happen to anybody!"

"Yeah, true, but... " Connie then couldn't say the rest, but simply blurted out more laughter.

"Grr… I said STOP!" the egotistical teen yelled, "You think you're so great, don't you!? Well… well… argh!" turned on his heels and stomped off, not even bothering to try coming back from his humiliation.

"Wait, Kevin, uh…" Steven began before Connie interrupted.

"Don't Steven, just don't. He's not worth it."

The younger boy thought Connie had something of a point. There was a time where he could not stand Kevin and it admittedly drove him to do some stupid things. Now, though, he did not want to think anyone was truly helpless. If a trio of tyrannical dictators could turn around, what was stopping him from helping a self-absorbed teenager?

"Connie, do you mind waiting here for a bit? I wanna at least try to talk to him."

"Sure, I won't hold it against you. I'll get some cotton candy in case you get too annoyed by him."

"Heh, thanks." Connie then walked off and let Steven chase after the older teen. A few minutes of searching later and he found Kevin pouting outside the arcade.

"Kevin, wait up! I'm sorry!"

"Hmph, what do you want now?"

"I… wanted to apologize. I shouldn't have laughed at you. Trust me, you're not the first one who didn't recognize me looking like this."

Kevin was taken aback by this but refused to let it show. "Yeah? Is that supposed to make us best friends now?"

Steven frowned as he remembered how… difficult Kevin can get, "Look, I know things aren't, well, cool between us, especially since that party a while ago, but-"

"Do NOT mention that night! I felt so… argh!" Kevin seemed more upset now.

"What? Did that not go well?"

"Oh, gee, first my guest of honor doesn't even show up and then I get dunked in the pool! I couldn't show my face at school for a week thanks to that stunt!"

"O-oh, that."

"Yeah, that," Kevin said, "I just wanted to talk to Stevonnie again, but instead all I got was soaking wet! Then I became the laughingstock of my class!"

At this point, Steven actually began to feel guilty. "Well… Stevonnie is kinda complicated."

"Yeah, I don't even begin to understand it, but somehow you and that girl Connie become Stevonnie. Weird stuff happens in this town all the time."

"If you really want to know, I can show you…"

That actually got Kevin to react. "Wait, what?"

"Fusion is pretty easy for Connie and me. All we have to do is dance together and then we're Stevonnie."

"You're joking. That's it?"

"Yeah, it's not even any special dance. Wanna see?"

Kevin had this weird look on his face but eventually nodded out of hopes that he would see Stevonnie anytime soon.

Steven took out his phone and put on a random beat. Unfortunately, it was the music from the party where Kevin first met Steven's first fusion. After a few seconds, Steven began to move to the rhythm.

"Hey, that's my song!" whined Kevin, "What are you trying to say? That you can dance to this better than me?"

"Huh?! No, I just hit a random song… I didn't mean to-"

"Yeah, sure. Keep playing dumb. Maybe you should step back and let me show you how it's done!"

Kevin stretched for a minute, warming up, then he proceeded to start dancing himself. He moved with a slick sense of finesse, a confident smirk on his face throughout. Something about that face irked Steven and that pushed him to dance against him. The younger teen was much more casual and simplistic with his movements, regardless of how he felt, matching the beat while the older of the pair was much more rehearsed and done through meticulous repetition. They drew a few stares from the people on the boardwalk as they danced off including Connie who was holding two servings of cotton candy.

"Well, it looks like I was right to get this…" she said to herself as she watched with the crowd. As the song was reaching its conclusion, the duo barely noticed the bystanders. They were entirely focused on each other and trying to outdo their rival until the final measure kicked in. On the final note of the melody, they both pushed themselves forward and ended up locking hands. It seems like they were going to progress from a contest to a scuffle when suddenly a blinding pink light blinded the crowd. When the light cleared, there was only one figure standing there…

He was just a head taller than Kevin, but also had Steven's more built, athletic body. His almost-black hair looked a bit of a mess like it was gelled back and combed, but then was made slightly messy. He wore Steven's shirt underneath Kevin's black jacket, a pair of blue skinny jeans and a pair of Kevin's custom shoes, but redone with a new color scheme as if to emulate Steven as well. His face was also a combination of Steven and Kevin as well, with mostly Steven's features but with Kevin's higher cheekbones, larger nose and forehead. His skin tone was similar to Steven's with a more evident tan to it.

The stranger opened his eyes and saw Connie walk up to him. She had an unreadable expression as she handed him the cotton candy. He took it wordlessly and started to nibble on it for a moment before she spoke. "I… I have no words for this…" she said, still with that odd look on her face.

The man then seemed to suddenly realize something, then dropped the cotton candy in shock. He then spoke, "What the- !? But how!? I thought- What the heck!? What just- Wait did we just- !? What's happening to me!?"

Connie stood there, now with a readable expression on her face, shock. Evidently this was SOME kind of fusion. But only physically… Mentally, there were still two people in there… "Um…" Connie began, aware of just how bizarre this was… "... Steven?"

"What?! No, I'm- Back off!"

"Ooookay… Maybe we should go to the Crystal Gems for help…"

"Heck no! I'm not doing that! But you should- Why?! Aaaaargh!"

Connie then noticed the crowd still staring at the new fusion, "Uh, guys?" she said, "Maybe we should find somewhere more private?"

For the first time, both halves of the new whole agreed to get away from prying eyes. With Stevonnie's first day still in mind, Connie and the new fusion walked to the warehouse where Sour Cream hosted that rave months ago. While it had become a regular rehearsal spot for Sadie's new band, it was currently vacant and thus gave the privacy they clearly needed.

"Okay," sighed Connie, "Now that we've got some space, I need you to calm down. Take a deep breath and get yourself together."

While Kevin's will wanted to disagree, the fusion still listened to the girl's advice and managed to relax somewhat.

"There. Now then, who are you?"

"...Stevin?"

"Okay, that's a start. How do you feel, Stevin?"

"This feels weird… Trust me, you'll get used to it."

"Um…"

"Oh yeah? How do you know? Because I've done this before? Yeah, but-"

"Okay, stop it!" yelled Connie, "It is super weird to watch you argue with yourself!"

Stevin blinked and suddenly felt very self-conscious, "S-Sorry?"

"It's alright. Stevonnie's first day wasn't all roses, but that's also because me and Steven were already good friends. You two, though… It explains why you're so scattered."

"Wait, what? What are you talking about?"

Connie simply stared at them with a look that said, really?

Stevin proceeded, "What? Connie, why- What's with the stupid look, you- Hey! That's not nice! She's creeping me out! That's no excuse to be rude!"

Connie simply facepalmed and said to herself, "This is going to take a while…"

Suddenly the two, or three to some, heard footsteps approaching from nearby; someone was walking into the warehouse! Worse yet, before they had a chance to hide, they saw the person step in the open space almost immediately. It was Greg!

"Connie?" he asked, confused, "What are you doing here? And who's this? Wait… where's Steven?"

Stevin's hand seemed to move with the other hand trying to restrain the first arm. Eventually he lifed his shirt high enough to reveal the Gem.

Greg's eyes were wide in shock. Connie then nervously said, "He… fused…?"

"Welp… I got nothing."

"Yeah, me neither."

"I'm standing right here!" pouted Stevin before he almost slapped himself in the face.

"I'm calling Pearl," blankly stated Greg as he pulled out his phone.

"Good idea…" The fusion said, before his voice immediately backtracked, "Wait, what!? You're calling someone else!? It's fine, Pearl is a- No it's not! I don't want people to see me like this! Come on, it'll be alright. No! I don't wanna! Seriously Kevin, RELAX!"

"Wait, Kevin!?" Greg said, shocked, "That jerk you told me about!? The one who only wanted you around just to hang with Stevonnie!?"

"Hey!" Greg then just realized that he just said that. To both his beloved son AND the actual jerk in question.

"Whoopsie…" Much to his relief, Pearl quickly answered and as soon as she heard the situation she showed up with Garnet and Amethyst in tow. All three of the Crystal Gems stared at him, all clearly shocked by the sight of Stevin, before Amethyst finally reacted.

"This… Is… HILARIOUS!"

"It really isn't," Connie said fully deadpan.

Stevin began to 'speak' again, "This is so embarrassing… Come on Kevin, they can help out. Oh great, I have to go to a bunch of alien freaks for help. Hey! That's my family you're talking about. Shut it, you runt! I just wanted to talk to Stevonnie again, but-"

As 'he' proceeded, the three gems in question each had their own awkward look on their faces. The only exception was Garnet, who was as stoic as ever.

"This is definitely not healthy," muttered Pearl, "Honestly, I'm stumped as to how they've stayed together this long…"

"It's only been, like, ten minutes," said Greg.

"Exactly."

"Anyone else feel like this is just the universe playing with us?" moaned Connie as she continued to watch Stevin have a one-person argument.

"I don't know about that, but I wish I had some popcorn!" jeered Amethyst, "This guy is a riot!"

Garnet then walked forward, completely unnoticed by Stevin until she placed a hand on his shoulder. That finally got the newer fusion to be quiet as Garnet stared at him for several seconds in silence.

"Uh… Garnet?" The fusion asked, somewhere between intimidated or worried.

"You're definitely something interesting."

"What do you mean?" asked Greg.

"There's a lot of conflict, and yet he's still together. But he's nowhere near Malachite; he's still actually bonded together from something, but I can't tell what."

"So… what?" asked Stevin, "Am I stuck like this?"

"No, fusion isn't permanent unless you want it to be.

"Well, I definitely don't want it to be! There's no need to freak out. Seriously, how can you be so calm!? Please Kevin, I- I'm a FREAK!"

Amethyst had to stifle more laughter at this. Pearl and Connie both looked at each other, both of them clearly concerned, while Garnet came to a conclusion.

"Every fusion is different and some definitely aren't meant to be. The only one who can figure this out is you, Stevin. Take your time and look at what makes you tick"

"...I can do that…"

And with that advice, Stevin calmly walked outside and looked out at Beach City in the distance and headed off. As he left, the rest of the group still inside watched him depart, they all had different thoughts going through their heads.

"Please don't get into any trouble…"

"He can figure this out for himself… I hope."

"Man, was it this weird seeing Stevonnie for the first time? Go figure."

"I almost can't believe how much Steven's matured. I'm sure he'll make the right decisions."

"Oh ho, this is gonna get gooooood!"

* * *

Stevin then walked down one of the streets, heavily self-confused. Both sides then thought the same thing. What makes us tick? That's a really good question...

It was at that moment that the fusion heard upbeat rave music nearby. Curious, the two began to walk towards the sound. The fusion eventually made it to this building where loud music was playing, it looked like a dance party. However, upon closer inspection, it seemed they were looking at something completely different.  
"Hey… Hm?"

Stevin was now facing his reflection in the mirror as the two mindsets communicated.

"What? / I think that's a dance off in there… / Really? Well… maybe we could- / No. / What? Why not? / I don't want to go in there like… like this! What if someone I know recognizes me!? / Kevin… You don't look like you right now! It's going to be fine. I promise!" Suddenly the fusion made a grumbling sort of sound, then the 'self-conversation' concluded, "Alright, fine. You win."

The fusion then awkwardly walked inside the building and saw a ring of teenagers surrounding a pair of girls who were trying to outdo each other's choreography. At first he stuck to the edge of the crowd, content to watch as he bobbed his head to the techno beat. Before he knew it, though, he started to move more and more until the people around backed away and opened the way to the center where the two dancing females watched him approach. He saw the crowd around him, but instead his focus was purely on his own movements. He slid from one spot to another with a confident grace that quickly drew the audience in and soon they were cheering for him.

The de facto DJ of the party switched the song on him, wanting to see how this new arrival would adapt, and the party was not disappointed. Despite the feverish pitch of the new track, Stevin was still grooving without a care in the world as he simply did whatever came to mind.

Then suddenly, he tripped.

The fusion hit the floor with a resounding thud. The crowd gasped at his fall and the music stopped on a dime. Stevin was barely injured by the fall, but something much worse was hurt. The entire room turned to black as his heart started pounding in his ears and his stomach felt ready to leap out of his throat. As laid there in the abyss, he could hear voices start to jeer and laugh at him.

"K-Kevin?" spoke Steven from inside, trying to be heard over the noise, "It's alright, okay? Eve-everyone messes up… sometimes…"

For once, though, the more arrogant teen was completely silent. He was trying to resist the urge to vomit and/or completely shut down from the panic attack that was just begging to start.

"Kevin, snap out of it!" begged Steven conscience, but he felt completely helpless. It was like trying to argue with a tsunami. The cruel laughter grew louder as he felt his neck tense and his breathing grow shorter.

"Hey, are you okay?" asked a voice through the noise. The inky void and the noise around him soon cleared away as he looked at a concerned older girl holding out her hand to him. Stevin was less surprised by her wild pink hair and lip piercing and more so by her kindness. He silently took her hand and walked with her to the back corner of the room while the others resumed dancing.

"T-thanks," muttered Stevin, trying to stop his knees from shaking, "D-Do I know you from somewhere?"

"Yeah, I'm pretty hard to miss," joked the girl, "The name's Sheena. The better question is, though, how are you?"

"Uhhhhhhh…"

"Take your time," said Sheena as she reached down to a cooler and brought out a water bottle for each of them, "Everyone messes up sometimes."

"H-How do you know all of this? Being, well, you know-"

"Anxiety? Trust me, I didn't start looking this way for kicks. I was a pompous little fourteen-year-old who thought 'no one understands me' and 'I'm so much smarter than all of you' and all that crud. Me getting straight D's in every class didn't change my mind."

"So… what did it?"

"When I was sixteen, I asked out a girl who I had been crushing on for a month. She, to put it nicely, told me she wasn't interested and I got laughed at for weeks because of it. I then refused to go to school, acted like an even bigger witch to everyone I knew, and tried to act I was the greatest person on Earth even though I cried myself to sleep every night."

Stevin's eyes widened in shock, "Whoa… what changed for you…?"

"My mom and dad came into my room one day when I stayed home. They had just gotten a call saying how I was failing everything and how I threatened to clobber some guy who tried talking to me. I told them to go away and stayed in bed pouting. That's when they both start pulling out all my clothes, throw them in a suitcase, put a hundred bucks in my wallet and told me to get out and only come back when I learned my lesson."

"What?! They kicked you out?!"

Sheena laughed at his shock. "Yeah, but trust me, I deserved it. I tried bumming off a few friends for a week, but they didn't want to put up with me. Trust me, I was a colossal jerk to them all. I was that roommate who would never cook, clean or do anything useful, but would always whine and complain how the couch I was sleeping on was too hard. I burned through all that money they gave me in two days because I could barely keep change in my pocket. I was about to consider running away on a bus to who-knows-where because 'I'm so pitiful' when I finally got it; I needed to grow up."

"W-What'd you do?"

"I went straight home, got a job the next day at some fast food place, started paying back all my friends the money I owed them for the food I mooched off of, went back to school next semester and actually tried, and pretty soon I was doing well. Shocking, I know, but I learned that applying myself was a lot better than being a spoiled brat. Now I've got a roof of my own, I make a pretty good living doing tattoos and now I can pay to dye my hair a different color every month!"

Stevin looked at her, impressed.

The fusion then spoke… "Well, we, I mean… I am kinda… I guess I'm just struggling to find myself, y'know?"

"Trust me, it happens to everyone. I used to be this super self-absorbed jerk, but really I was just scared."

"Of what?"

"That if people saw the real me, they wouldn't like it."

Stevin, or rather the part of the fusion's mind that was Kevin, was in deep thought about this. A hand subconsciously went to his face and covered the fusion's mouth. Sheena saw this and began to walk away.

"Dude, it's alright. Not everyone's super confident, but that's alright too. You should've seen this one girl I met, though. She was pretty strange, but really outgoing. Whoever you are can be a good person if you want it to be."

And with that wisdom said, the pink-haired party girl walked away and left Stevin to himself. He glanced up at the dancing going on without him and decided to head out the door.

However, the moment the fusion stepped out of the doorway, Stevin sat down on a nearby bench, and sighed. He looked at the reflective glass next to him…

"Your wanna talk about it…?" Steven and Kevin began to converse within the fusion again, "... I… I just wanna know something… what's it like? Having actual friends?" As he looked into the glass, the images of his components appeared instead of his own reflection.

"Well… It's kinda hard to explain. I've always had friends and I just make them without even trying."

"..."

"Kevin?"

"... You're lucky. I wish I could make friends like that…"

"Kevin…"

"I don't get it! I'm beautiful, rich, smart, funny, what else is there?! What am I missing!?"

"... Maybe I can help? Maybe I can teach you?"

"... Really? You'd do that for me?"

"Yeah! … I can be your friend! If you want."

Kevin thought long and hard about it before the glass Stevin was looking in appeared to crack. "Why?"

"Huh? Why, what?"

"Why you, huh? Why do you just now want to be nice to me?"

"Because you just said you wanted to!" answered Steven angrily, causing his image to start cracking as well.

"You think I like being pitied?!"

"No, but apparently you like being a jerk!"

"Stop it!" shouted Stevin, a headache ringing through his skull thanks to their arguing, "I get it, we don't like each other, but can it already!"

"Sir, are you alright?" asked someone new, snapping Stevin back to reality. He found a certain well-built teenager in town wearing what appeared to be a theater costume.

"J-Jamie?" asked Stevin, almost wondering if he was still hallucinating.

"Ah, it seems my legions of fans continue to expand!"

"Wait, you don't recogni-" the fusion realized it, "Wait, no you wouldn't…"

"Wouldn't what? Have we met somewhere?"

Stevin did not answer that question. The fusion then had a mix of information in his head about how Steven knew Jamie… and how Kevin knew Jamie… the two were…

"Cousins!?" the fusion blurted out in shock.

"Huh?" Jamie asked, confused.

"Um… n-nothing…"

"Okay… so… what are you doing here all by yourself?"

Somehow the word yourself got to the fusion… "I… uh… kinda… messed up a bit…"

"Hm?"

"I just embarrassed myself at this party, but then I met this girl and-"

"Ah, the affairs of the heart! Trust me, we've all had our woes with the forces of attraction. It's one of the rare things my cousin and I have in common."

Stevin remained quiet as the thespian continued. "Ever since childhood, Kevin and I have never been on good terms. Our family has always been affluent, but our parents took different approaches to us. My mother and father were wealthy, but gave me a sense that I had to earn my own way. Even though I had plenty of money, I never felt the need to flaunt it because I wanted my actions to speak for themselves."

Jamie looked over and noticed his audience seemed a bit restless. Stevin was keeping both his hands in his pockets and seemed a tad uncomfortable.

"Oh, don't worry, now I'm doing great! My performing arts school has new applicants every week! I wish I could say the same for Kevin, though. My aunt and uncle, kind as they are, spoiled him rotten. They never made him strive for anything except to stay out of legal trouble. Any time someone told him off or demanded he change, they'd always write it off and then tell Kevin how incredibly special he is and how the world simply doesn't understand him and all that flowery nonsense."

"What… happened with that girl?" he stuttered, his hands fidgeting with every word.

"Sabrina? Ah, the one thing he couldn't have. A nice enough woman, I suppose, but she refused to fall for Kevin's charms. Once he couldn't dazzle her with his personality, he tried showering her with gifts. I swear he bought that near-stranger a genuine diamond necklace once! All just she'd talk to him and perhaps go on a lunch date, but even then she just shunned him. It was only when the braggart finally confessed how much he adored her and wanted to truly get to know her that she finally relented…"

Stevin was now completely still which Jamie took as a sign to continue with his story.

"But… that's kinda where the dream stopped. Kevin eventually began to act more… entitled. He started to be more demanding and more selfish… he began to prioritize himself over everything else. Including Sabrina."

"Then…" stuttered Stevin, now fighting to stay seated, "What?"

"She wouldn't stand for it, that's what. Not long after he changed for the worse, Sabrina confronted him in front of a packed restaurant and called him out for everything he had said and done. He, being the incredible mature person he is, then declared that she should apologize for humiliating him or they were through. She dumped her dinner on his head and stormed out after that."

Stevin's two minds felt heavily conflicted when they heard that story. One was feeling pangs of sympathy while the other felt raw animosity. This kept going for a few seconds.

"Do…" the fusion then said with some hesitation, "Do you think Kevin would be able to change?"

Jamie then closed his eyes in thought, bringing some worry to the fusion. "Perhaps, but the issue is… that he doesn't want to change. He still sees himself as the absolute greatest thing since Shakespeare and shy of a miracle, I honestly don't know what could get through to him."

"But… he's your cousin…"

"Yes, a cousin who's done nothing but look down on me for not having the same silver spoon in his mouth. Nevermind the fact that I'm now running a successful business and he's gallivanting around town flaunting his parents' money like it will never run out."

Jamie then looked down at his watch and gaped at the time. "Oh dear, I have an appointment to make! Sorry for this, sir, but I have to go. Have a splendid day!"

At that moment, Stevin felt… conflicted. As the jolly thespian jogged away, the last few words he said sunk in. Just how bad could Kevin be if a member of his own family could badmouth him and then walk away so casually?

It took some time, but Stevin eventually got to his feet and walked off into town once again, his head thankfully silent. He was wondering now more than ever what to do now and if Kevin was worth helping at this point...

* * *

Later, the fusion was at the shore, the mind of the fusion going through thoughts wildly with the feelings, thoughts, and opinions of both Steven and Kevin running madly throughout. Steven's desire to help Kevin and how unsure of it he's become, Kevin's past with Sabrina, Steven's offer and Kevin's words about him… It took quite a bit of time to deliberate, but soon the young man's mind was made up.

"Okay…" he said to himself while still trying to keep his nouns straight, "Kevin is… not perfect but neither is Steven. They've both got problems and that's fine."

He looked out at the ocean, feeling a newfound peace as he listened to the waves. "Steven wants to help Kevin, but will I, I mean he, let him?"

The fusion looked down upon his hands. It took a few seconds, but then, he eventually made up his mind… Gripping his hands, Stevin said, "Garnet said there something keeping us together. So… we'll try to work things out. I'll try to work things out." At that point his voice sounded different. Up until this point, it sounded like Steven and Kevin's voices merely overlapped one anothers', like with Malachite. But now it seemed the fusion had his own sound, unique to him.

He took a split second to realize this, then smiled a bit, saying, "Yeah. Yeah, this'll definitely work."


	17. Chapter 17

Hey everyone! I know things look tough in the world, but that won't stop me and Milo F Waters from posting more chapters of this story for you all!

So, here you go!

Let's see how the Steven/Kevin fusion fares now that he's willing to try and find an internal sense of harmony.

Chapter 17: New Roots

The Fusion has spent the night sleeping near the lighthouse, as Stevin didn't feel entirely comfortable sleeping in the bed of either of his components. In the morning, he went to the Crystal Gem Temple, where construction was underway on the remake of the house.

Stevin looked in awe at the large amount of progress that was already made thus far. Indeed, it seemed like progress would be done by the end of the month.

* * *

A minute later and the fusion was inside of the temple, walking in nervously. He was then greeted by Garnet. "Well, nice to see you're taking a chance at this," Garner said with a simple smile on his face.

"Y-Yeah," Stevin said, smiling a bit himself, "I wanna make this work, even if it's only for a little while…"

"Fair enough."

"So, uh, what exactly is there to do then?"

"Beats me," she shrugged, "Spontaneity is the spice of life, especially for me."

"Morning, world!" greeted Amethyst as she appeared out of her room only to do a double take at Stevin. "Wait, that wasn't some freaky dream?! That actually happened?!"

"Yep!" Steven said with a nervous laugh.

Then, things got more awkward for a second when Pearl entered the room. Accompanied by Lapis this time. "Oh, uh, Stevin!" She said awkwardly, "Nice to… see you today?"

"Oh, uh, thanks…? Is this the part where you yell at Amethyst?"

The two looked at each other, embarrassed at their past arguments.

Lapis simply looked as bored as usual, "So… who's this?" She asked, casually.

"This is Stevin," introduced Garnet, "A new fusion who's just trying to figure things out for the first time."

"Wait, you mean Steven and Kevin?"

"Yep."

"That smarmy jerk even Steven said was a, and I quote, 'Lean, mean ego machine?'"

Stevin suddenly felt a jolt of pain in his brain. "Sorry about that!" he said to himself.

"Oookay…" said Lapis as she headed out the door, "Good luck with… all of that junk." Stevin then looked awkwardly at her.

Luckily the tension was broken easily with Connie coming through the door, "Um, hello?"

They all turned to face her, "Uh… bad time?"

"No," Garnet said, "You're just in time."

"For what? A training session?"

"No, a mission. Shocking as it may seem, there are still a handful of corrupt gems scattered throughout the planet. I've located one recently, it's somewhere in a jungle. We need to bring in. Now that we've the means to cure them all, we need to double our efforts to bring them all back."

"Alright then," assured Pearl, "Should we bring Peri, Bismuth or…"

"And Stevin is going to help us do it."

A very long silence rang throughout the house. It was only interrupted when Lapis tried walking out the door and it took Amethyst pulling her back in to get a conversation going.

"SAY WHAT?!" yelled the purple wild child Gem, "I mean, I've done some loco stuff on missions, but not something like bringing a brand-new still flaky fusion on one!"

"Yeah," Lapis said in her unfazed tone, "I'm kinda with Amethyst on this one…" she mentally cringed, feeling reminded of Malachite.

"Everyone needs to start somewhere. If I recall, this would be your first new mission too, Lapis."

"Aw crud…"

"Garnet, we're not saying any of this to doubt your conviction," spoke Pearl, "But we can all attest to the fact that first-time fusions need some space to grow into their new being."

"Yeah!" said Connie forcefully, "All Stevonnie did was hang around town and then go to a party where we met Kevin for the first time! And now you want to bring him on a mission to save one of your own friends?!"

"Trust me," Garnet said, adjusting her glasses, "Stevin can handle it."

Connie looked like her birthday was canceled. She then stood right in front of Garnet "Garnet please, Steven may know what he's doing, but… this is KEVIN we're talking about! If anything, this new fusion will just get in the way!"

"N-No," said the new fusion, getting his nerves together, "I need to do this. I've had my time to get used to myself just existing, but I need to know more. Plus… I'm actually kind of excited for this." Connie had a nervous look on her face…

* * *

A few minutes later the team of six had arrived, via the Warp pad, into a lush, tropical jungle where there were wild plants everywhere. Even by untamed wilderness standards, the plant life seemed to be going crazy as vines as thick as Garnet's arms and flowers of almost every color covered every surface in sight. The group left the pad with caution as they tried to walk over the mess of foliage beneath their feet. Lapis soon just settled for hovering above the ground.

"Okay…" Stevin said, looking at Garnet and carefully watching his footing, "So… where is this place?"

"It's just up ahead," the fellow fusion replied, walking forward and down a makeshift path. The others began to follow here. Lapis noticed something shifting in the shadows, but none of the plants seemed to move, so she simply shrugged and wrote it off as just her imagination.

Eventually, the group had reached their destination and found something much more magical in nature. A twenty-foot tall open-air temple with stone floors and crystalline walls. While the architecture was beautiful, they were more keen on the overabundance of flora still covering the place.

"Man, good thing I don't have allergies," said Connie as she walked into the temple.

"Yeah," agreed Amethyst, "But I bet Pearl's going crazy with all these plants."

"And just what are you referring to?" she asked.

"Well, look at them! Aren't they all asymmetrical and out of order?"

"Please, Amethyst, I can respect nature enough to know that's just how plants are in their natural habitat."

"Really?" added Lapis, "I heard you once had a meltdown over some brambles in a fountain."

"That was completely different!" she shouted much louder than she intended. While it got a laugh out of Amethyst, Garnet and Stevin just watched them all in amusement.

"Are all these missions this… entertaining?" asked Stevin.

"Uh, dude," Amethyst said to him, "You're part Steven, you would know the answer to that question by now." She then walked past him as he began to think, a brief set of memories of Steven's adventures flashed in his mind, along with some of the emotions that Steven felt throughout. Then a thought rang out, a thought from Kevin… They… seem to really have fun…

At that moment though, the gems all heard a loud rumbling sound from nearby. "What was that?" Pearl said, cautious.

"Our target," responded Garnet, "Everyone, stay on your guard."

All of the gems summoned their weapons while Lapis flew off to find some water to use. Stevin tried concentrating on summoning Steven's shield, but got nothing. The only exception was Connie who only now remembered that her sword was broken by the Diamonds.

"Ehehehe… Pearl, do you have a backup weapon I could- ?"

"Sure," she then pulled out one of her fencing sabers from her gem and threw it to her apprentice. She was thrown off by how much lighter the blade was than her old one, but it would have to suffice. They all tensed up as they heard what sounded like something slithering across the floor. The only other thing they heard was Stevin now working himself to the point of sweating trying to get his shield.

"Come on… You… Dumb… Light thingy…!"

"Yeah, great idea…" lamented Connie when she heard a twig snap behind her.

"Got you now, chump!" yelled Amethyst as she charged with her whip at the ready. She struck down at the stone beneath her, but was knocked back into the air by a black withered root smashing into her face.

"Welp, found it…" she muttered with her face still kissing the ground.

"What the-?!" shrieked Stevin, "Was that some kinda mutant plant?!"

"Looks like it," remarked Garnet before she had to leap aside as more dead roots tried to impale her. Pearl was almost knocked off her feet by a blackened vine trying to tie her up, but she managed to leap away in time. A few managed to reach her, but she was able to slice them apart easily.

Amethyst slowly got up, only for another blackened vine to wrap itself around her lower leg, and hoist her up rapidly!

"Amethyst!" Connie said, and ran over to the short Quartz and tried to cut her free. While it did the trick, it left herself open to be attacked from behind by vine covered with thorns.

"Watch out!" shouted Stevin, the fusion then began to run up to them, unaware that his gem was glowing… And soon instead of running he was sliding and almost tripped over himself. Thankfully, it did serve as enough of a distraction to get Connie's attention and slice apart the barbed vine.

The fusion, confused, looked to his feet and found his footwear was different! He seemed to be wearing an ornate pair of… skates? "What the?" He reached out to grab them only to find that he was also wearing a pair of matching metallic armbands on his wrists. He tried reaching for those instead but only got more confused. What came out of them was a pair of giant bladed gauntlets that looked like two serrated swords strapped to Garnet's weapons. And then quite possibly the strangest thing yet happened as Stevin started skating along the ground and slicing up the vines left and right.

As if he literally flipped a switch from clumsy to confident, Stevin turned into a one-man weed-whacking tornado that started utterly annihilating everything the plants threw at him. Leaping through the air, slashing plants behind him backhanded while barely looking and even using his new skates for even more cutting power, he managed to slash dozens of the menacing plants to ribbons until they seemed to finally give up and settled down.

When he was done and put his weapons away he saw four promptly dropped jaws from everyone present, except Garnet.

"W-W-W-What…" sputtered Connie, suddenly feeling like going back home and calling the whole situation a wash.

"I… I… I'm sorry for doubting you?"

"That was bananas!" shouted Amethyst, her mind completely blown. "I gotta do that! Pearl, teach me to do that! I don't care how many boring lectures it takes, I wanna dice up spooky vines with knives on my arms like I drank fifteen liters of cola! DO IT!"

Stevin was alarmed at this remark, "Was… was I really intense out there?"  
"Dude, you were awesome! You were like some dancing demon out there! Just skating around, then, SLICE AND DICE!" The fusion then began to smile at this praise, almost smirking, "Heh-heh, thanks Amethyst. I guess I'm better at this than I thought! I mean, I was just doing what naturally came to me and-"

At that moment, the group heard a loud raspy roar, "What was that!? Connie asked, brandishing her blade once more. At that moment, the ground beneath their feet seemed to tremble. Then at that moment something began to rise from the ground beneath their feet!

It turns out those vines were just the start as the mass of plants on the floor and walls began to rapidly shrivel up and die as the source of the rumbling seemed to drain all of the life out of them. And soon, once every vine and flower in the temple was a blacked husk, a massive being broke through the stone floor and revealed the corrupted gem the heroes were after.

A fifteen-foot tall tree with bark as black as the night sky arose with the body of an ordinary looking Quartz soldier was absorbed into the tree with only her torso and face being exposed, both looking as if they too were made of bark. The hundreds of dead vines suddenly writhed and spasmed as the gem creature somehow took control of them and forced them to form into two massive arms that looked large enough to break a car in half. While the mouth of the creature itself never moved, the plants let out a high-pitched scream that made all of the Crystal Gems cover their ears and all the easier for dozens of vines to assault them.

"Everyone scatter, now!" ordered Garnet as she was suddenly met by a massive flytrap mouth that appeared out of the ground.

Luckily everyone jumped out of the way. However something unexpected happened, a small barrage of projectiles, seemingly made of water began to surround and zone around the gem-monster and grab its attention.

"Guys!" Everyone looked up to see it was Lapis, "I've distracted it, now's your chance!"

With this new backup, the Crystal Gems had much better odds. More flytrap mouths appeared out of the ground, but now they were beaten down with literal water rockets or sliced apart by Stevin's new crystal blades. The swarm of vines went after the rest but all of them, even Connie with her unfamiliar weapon, were slicing them away by the dozens. The only problem was that it seemed like they were not getting any closer to the creature as every vine they cut down was quickly replaced and came at them again.

"Argh, this is getting ANNOYING!" Amethyst said, expressing her mood. "Pearl, Garnet, one of you brainiacs come up with an idea!"

"I don't know!" yelled Pearl as she was dodging a new type of enemy: pitch black flowers that were secreting an ominous green pollen, "But I feel like this thing is actually getting stronger!"

"Come on, you stupid weed," urged Lapis as she kept up her assault, "Why isn't this working?!"

Suddenly, some of the vines were able to absorb some of the water projectiles, causing them to get thicker and stronger! "Oh…" Lapis said looking at this realization, "That's why…"

The monster roared once again as some of the vines began to approach her! The flying Gem was quickly yanked out of the sky and was being dragged towards the corrupted Gem.

"No!" yelled Stevin as he tried skating after her, but he quickly found himself being swallowed up by dozens of the strengthened vines all at once. He managed to free himself with a bubble, but his situation made the other Crystal Gems all lose their focus.

"Hold on, dude!" started Amethyst, but was soon caught by three of the flytrap mouths. She tried whipping herself free, but the carnivorous plants just ate her whip and started tossing her from one head to the other.

"Let go of him!" yelled Pearl, but the flowers had other plans. The blossoms were now as large as her head and one of them lodged itself right into her gemstone. It began soaking her core in its sickening pollen and suddenly she was paralyzed.

"Pearl!" Stevin yelled as he struggled desperately to break free, but to no avail! The vines simply reinforced their grip on him. He tried even harder but felt something else, a sudden chill in the air around him but it didn't bother him. Rather, it seemed to feel right, comforting even. Once his bubble gave way, the plants tried to grab him but they suddenly began to literally freeze up as a chill began to seep into the air. Stevin looked at the scene, shocked and then looked at his hands. He reaches out with one hand to the ground, suddenly a small sheet of ice froze over that spot, a few of the vines at that spot froze as well! "Whoa…" he was shocked at this new revelation; he could control ICE! With a smile and look of determination, he focused on the vines around him…

Many of the plants tried rushing at him, but they were frozen solid in an instant. He summoned his skates and swords again and took off with an aura of cold surrounding and even bits of pink ice following him. He slashed the pollen-spewing plant holding Pearl down in a second and made sure to clean off her gemstone with his shirt as much as he could.

"W-What?" she said sluggishly, "My head feels so foggy…"

"Sorry, don't have any soap with me, gotta run!"

He charged forward towards Amethyst, petrifying more vines as he flew across the ground and quickly got to work freeing her from the flytraps. One of them tried swallowing her while the other two went for his head. They knew how to dodge and be more strategic than the vines, but their movements began to slow down as his cold aura slowed them down until he sliced one clean in half and then grabbed the other one and fully froze it.

He planned to help Amethyst, but she had already taken care of that by shapeshifting into the Purple Puma while inside the plant and becoming too big for it to handle. Unfortunately that meant the thing literally burst open with bright green chlorophyll flying everywhere and coating her.

"Okay, don't tell Pearl," she told him as she shapeshifted back to normal, "But even I think this is gross."

Stevin actually giggled at this comment until another roar got their attention - a horde of vines began to rush at them from all sides!

Stevin however, smirked at this. He then focused his powers and said, "You guys need to chill…" He held his hands out to his sides, then suddenly a wave of sheer cold emitted from his body. Heck, he even began to emit snowflakes! The vines all slowly began to freeze over!

Oh, but he wasn't done yet until he then leapt up into the air and started twirling, flipping, and moving around, using his unique gem weaponry to slice all of the freezing vines into bits and pieces of ice.

He then landed on the floor gracefully. Needless to say, Amethyst was truly impressed. "Dude, that was AWESOME! You made ice cubes out of those chumps!"

"Well… yeah," Stevin said with a mixture of bashfulness and pride, "I was pretty awesome, wasn't I?" They then heard another roar and faced the monster directly, "Be right back."

Stevin then began to skate up to the creature which Garnet was trying to free Lapis from the creature's grasp. The flying gem was clasped in one of the monster's massive hands with Connie helping by keeping Garnet's flanks open. She was holding her own at the moment, but it was obvious she was beginning to get exhausted.

"Hang on, Lapis!" yelled the girl, "We'll save you!"

"I-I'd like that! I-I can't control any water like this!"

"Heads up!" called Stevin as he leaped into action. He aimed straight for the arm holding Lapis, but six massive thorns tried to impale him and forced him to retreat.

"Stevin, make a distraction!" ordered Garnet, "Connie, you help him while I get Lapis out of there."

Stevin nodded to Garnet and began to circle around trying to get the monster's attention. When a few vines tried to reach him, he leapt over them and froze them solid in the process. Then he began to skate atop of one of the frozen vines to get closer to the monster. This distraction seemed to work as even more vines lashed out at him. Before they could get to him, however, he went into a spin-kick and slicing them up with his four blades like a living tornado. All the while, he felt alive like never before, like he was dancing his heart out. Another vine, this one covered with thorns, tried to tangle him but he just slid forward and froze the vine, before shattering it. The Gem-monster then faced Stevin directly. Now he had the thing's FULL attention. The tendrils all shrieked as dozens of them came after Stevin all at once, but he summoned a bubble that actually froze the plants on contact.

"Stevin, HELP!" yelled Connie, starting to get overwhelmed as the vines went for an easier target. She had sliced a few apart before, but now there were over twenty of them on her at once.

The fusion popped his bubble with a thought and raced over to the girl, grabbing her and pulling her along as he skated and continued dicing the endless barrage. Connie, while still trying to keep her footing on the icy path her partner made, refused to just be rescued as she held up her blade and cut down more vines as they tried coming up around her.

However, one vine managed to grab at her hand, twisting and pulling enough to make her drop her sword and yank her away.

"Connie!" Stevin finally made it over to her and began to slice apart several of the vines, "Here!" he was able to pick up the sword and hand it back to her. She immediately took it and began to combat the vicious flora further.

While they held the creature's attention, Garnet was busy having a boxing match with the monster's main body. The thing summoned another flytrap mouth to hold Lapis while it's gigantic hands tried to pummel Garnet into oblivion. For minutes now they were deadlocked thanks to Garnet's future vision letting her stay one step ahead of the monster, but her foe was strong and resilient enough to keep fighting on no matter how many blows she landed. This all finally changed, though, when the monster roared in anger and tried redoubling its efforts, however, it began to slip, which allowed Garnet to finally gain the upper-hand. The monster's punches became lightning fast, but also became far more predictable and let her simply block everything until the thing finally ran out of energy and let her charge in with a kick hard enough to send one of its wooden arms flying into the stratosphere.

"Whoa…" gaped Lapis, but soon she had other problems. The flytrap monster wnet from leaving her head exposed to swallowing her whole. The plant tried to siphon the water out of her gem, but Garnet was ahead of that too and was already behind the plant ready to rip the flytrap out of the trunk and free Lapis. In a few seconds, the plant was completely uprooted and flung miles into the air before crashing into the temple.

Pearl and Amethyst, now free from the vines still trying to tie them up, walked over to the fallen Gem with the rest of the team.

"Phew, that got seriously intense," sighed Lapis, "Thanks Garnet."

The permafusion nodded, giving Lapis a small smile, before she and the others turned to face the monster itself.

Stevin and Connie were gasping for breath, hoping that the thing would not spontaneously start attacking again. They both kept their swords out just in case, but the other Gems were more relaxed.

"Well, that's another one taken care of," said Garnet as she punched the monstrous tree hard enough to finally poof it. The tree covering the gemstone disappeared leaving a speckled blue and brown gemstone behind.

"T-That's it?" asked Stevin curiously, "All of that for some little stone?"

"Not one I recognize," mused Pearl as Garnet put it in a bubble, "Must be another Homeworld soldier."

"Yeah, but that might mean she still has friends here," thought Connie brightly, "And now they can all be together again."

"Yeah…" Stevin said in deep thought. Then, in a soft glow, he separated calmly and safely into his two separate selves.

Kevin had a confused look on his face, "So… this is how you lived most of your life outside your free time? You hunt down these monsters and… you just forgive them?"

"They aren't in their right mind, Kevin," Steven explained calmly, "They're pretty much lost, gone feral from their corruption."

'"Feral?'"

"It's a very long story, though one you should at least know a bit of now," said Pearl, "But Steven's only been doing this for about a year. For most of us, we've been at this for thousands of years."

"And for the longest time," continued Lapis, "They had no way to fix these guys. They just kept them in those bubbles for all time because it was better than being some freaky monster the whole time."

"Until now!" Steven said joyfully, "After convincing the Diamond Authority to change their ways, they can help. And the four of us are able to reverse the Gem corruption and turn them back to normal… with some new horns!"

"You mean, all of those other weird Gem-things you hang out with? All of them were monsters?"

"Plus, there's the fact that the three of us once kidnapped him and Bismuth, Peri and Lapis all had problems with him. Good times!" joked Amethyst.

"I always liked Steven," replied Lapis, "It's you three who I didn't like because of that mirror… but now I know that wasn't your fault."

"And let's not even start with Jasper," added Pearl, "That Gem still needs a major attitude adjustment. Why just yesterday I politely suggested she help out with the reconstruction and she told me to jump off a cliff!"

"But you can float so maybe she just wanted to see that?" offered Steven.

"Okay, that's enough!" yelled Kevin, feeling a serious headache coming on, "Can I… go home now? I feel like I have a lot of stuff to get done."

"Seriously?" asked Connie, "After all that, you're just gonna go back to your big house and what? Style your hair for an hour?"

"As if. My stylist is the only one who gets to go near this coif…"

"Connie, it's okay," assured Steven, "Don't worry, we can warp back no problem."

Kevin looked at Steven for a second. Then he nodded, "Okay. On your lead then."

Steven then began to make his way back to the warp pad, with Kevin walking with him, making a passive remark, "Y'know some of those vines were pretty slimy, I think it'd prefer an urban environment or something.

"Y'know, I took a trip to Empire City once."

"Really? That sounds pretty rad! I usually go there every year..."

Everyone else was left dumbfounded at how the two were able to get along now and continued chatting as they made it back to the pad

"What… just happened?" Connie said, pretty much saying what everyone was thinking.

"Steven's done it again," chuckled Garnet, "Now if only we could get that crazy Diamond to befriend him that fast."

Once the rest of the gang managed to pick up their jaws and headed to the warp pad, they found the boys had already left.

Garnet brought them all back to the temple and they spotted Steven waving Kevin goodbye as the older teen left the house. They all watched as Kevin walked past all of the houses quickly and seemed to be heading into town.

"Hey dude," spoke Amethyst, "Where's your new pal going?"

"Not sure. He just said he had someone he needed to talk to, but I've got a good feeling about him."

"Well, I guess that's one less problem," remarked Connie, "But it still feels way too weird."

"I get it, but we both fusion is a strange thing. It's really weird on the surface, but it can really be something great."

"Yeah, you're right. So now what should we do?"

"Well…" suggested Pearl, "Since you're both here and succeeded on our latest mission, who wants a treat? Maybe… ice cream"

"Works for us!" cheered both of the kids while Amethyst just gawked at her.

"What the heck?! You just offered sweets to someone?! I thought you were gonna give them granola or kale chips or some other weird health junk!"

"Looks like today's full of surprises," Garnet said as Steven and Connie ran out with Pearl close behind.


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18: Power Trip

It was a few days after what Amethyst called the Stevin mission. Steven was currently at one of the houses outside of the temple as it was time to finally start installing power now that the structures were nearing completion. That meant that Peridot finally got to contribute and she was eager to get started.

"Ah, it is finally time for me to showcase my brilliance!" she boasted while levitating a bag of power tools, "Building is one thing but the subtle craft of electricianing is calling me."

"Uh, Peri," warned Steven, "I know you're super smart but are you sure you're cool here?"

"Oh, lovably naive Steven, I understand that I was once unfamiliar with your tools but my many months here has let me become a master of the field! After all, who else could rig a perfect satellite hookup to get Camp Pining Hearts a full week early!"

"Yeah, that did come in handy… But isn't that illegal?"

"Only if law enforcement knows about it!"

The teenager felt confident that she could succeed, but also a bit nervous. After all, she was just supposed to put wiring into the house and not a laser-grid defense system that she once [kiddingly?] mentioned installing here. That was why Garnet had the idea to have someone else help with the installation.

"Alrighty, partner!" said Bismuth as she entered through the door, "Let's get cracking! There's bismuth to be done!"

"Um, hold it! Bismuth, I admit that architecture is your forte. You are also more proficient in metallurgy and weapon-smithing, but the realm of wiring and power is my specialty!"

"Uh huh. Because wiring up a super-drill made to reach the Cluster is totally the same as putting in some lights. Peri, trust me, I know you got skills but you could use some backup on this."

"Uh, I'll just leave you two to it," said Steven, deciding to leave in case things got awkward.

"Now then, if you'll excuse me Bismuth, I have some miracles to work!"

Ten minutes later, Peridot and Bismuth both stood outside the house that was now on fire. Lapis was quickly able to put out the blaze, but the damage was still done.

"Would you like my backup now?" asked Bismuth, angry to see her work like this.

"Yes, please…"

Steven was currently staring at the burnt structure, his face truly screamed awkward.

"Uh… Maybe we should back off on this for now…"

"Steven," said Bismuth, intentionally interrupting him, "Trust me, I can keep her reined in. Why don't you just go inside and let us handle this?"

Suddenly, the light's began to blink on and off all over the place, shocking and confusing the trio. "What the heck!?" Peridot said.

"Oh great, now what did you do?!" shouted Bismuth.

"Guys, relax! It looks like the whole town's power is going nuts! There must be something wrong with the power plant."

"Then what are we waiting for? Peri, we'll deal with this later."

The techie just nodded and the three rushed off for the plant near the Beach City boundaries. As they arrived, it was late in the evening and they quickly noticed it was no ordinary power outage. Some buildings were completely dark but others were completely on the fritz with every light flashing like strobes.

When the trio finally made it to the plant, they noticed a trail of footprints and claw marks alongside the large electric boxes. They entered the main power center and found the culprit behind all the chaos.

In the middle of this scene was a Gem monster. It was bright orange and wolflike, much like Onyx, only this monster was armed with short, sharp claws and a few spike-like quills on its body. And that was before mentioning that electric energy was cackling between them. The gem was located at the navel like with Steven and looked blocky like Bismuth's. Lastly, the Gem Monster was wearing a gray and Red collar that had Red Diamond's insignia on the side.

"Great," Bismuth said, "Another one of Red's personal pawns." She then turned her hands into hammers, "Let's put a stop to this!"

"Yeah!" Steven said, summoning his shield, then his sword.

"Good thing I brought these!" said Peri as she levitated a pair of hammers from her toolbag with her metal powers.

The wolf-like creature then began to growl at them, then ran their way fully prepared to pounce!

Bismuth and Steven both rushed in to meet the monster head-on, one with hammers for hands and the other with a shield drawn. The quilled monster did not waver and collided straight into them. The Crystal Gems felt their legs buckle, but stood firm. Bismuth swung her arms in a wide arc and smacked the monster in the face, but something was immediately wrong. She felt a painful jolt in her arms.

"Oh man!" she cried, "What just happened? My arms feel like they got zapped by lightning!"

"Wait, what?" hesitated Steven. Unfortunately that just left him open to the creature to send a bolt of electricity from between his quills at him that knocked him over. "Ack!"

"Steven!" Peridot called out, panicked.  
"Ngh," Steven carefully got up, feeling the subtle shock of the electric energy, "I'm fine!"

Realizing that direct contact was not working, Peridot decided it was time for her to step up. She sent both of her tools hurling at the lupine creature and smacked it's front legs. Unfortunately for her, she felt two painful jolts ring out through her head like someone zapped her gem.

"Oooh, that was a mistake!" she groaned, "This was worse than that time I tried making flashbang grenades with popcorn."

"Huh?! What is this thing?" yelped a very confused Steven.

"I think I know…" said Bismuth, "It looks like a Wulfenite. They usually work hand-in-hand with Bismuths to provide power to buildings once they're constructed."

"And Red turned one into that? Talk about a sick sense of humor…" groaned Peridot.

Steven was disgusted, "She did that!?"

Suddenly the creature then gave off a loud howl and began to approach the hybrid. Steven then readied his shield to parry it's next attack.

"Wait, Steven, don't!"

However, it was too late! While Steven was able to counter the corrupted gem's attack, knocking it back with his enhanced strength. He also felt a painful jolt alongside his shoulder; the creature was somehow able to zap him. The hybrid staggered back, then held his upper arm in pain, "Ack, my arm!"

Bismuth ran to Steven's side, "Kid, keep your hands off it! It must be able to shock anything that hits it."

As she was helping Steven get up he said, "Okay, so how do we beat this thing!?"

Bismuth thought about it for a second. Then a lightbulb went off in her mind, "Wait, I got it! Wulfenites can only store up so much electricity. If we overload it, then it should poof back into its gem!"

"Then you might wanna stand back!" yelled Peridot as she concentrated her metal powers on the walls around her. Thanks to the monster tearing up the place, several live wires were strewn about. With her ferrokinesis, she could manipulate them into shocking the creature but would need some help. "Lure him into them and I can electrocute him!"

"Got it!" said both of the other fighters. Steven pulled out the blade from his shield and ran alongside Bismuth. The duo charged right at Wulfenite and managed to run past the bolts the creature threw at them. The beast then tried to swipe at Steven with an electrified claw, but Steven was able to just barely slide past the creature's attack. Bismuth then began to throw a few bits of gravel at the Gem monster right between the eyes. Aggravated, the monster turned to face her and growled at her direction. Peridot meanwhile was slowly trying to maneuver the wires into the perfect trap for the feral Wulfenite.

"That's right, I did that!" taunted Bismuth, "You wanna do something about it?"

The monster lunged at her but the blacksmith was careful to dodge every attack until she was right in front of a wall full of wires Peri had set up for a surprise. She dared Wulfenite to attack her and he fell for it, charging right into the electrified wall while she just jumped out of the way.

Wulfenite yelled in pain as the electricity racked his form until his gem could not take it anymore and he was poofed.

"Alright!" cheered Steven, "Way to go guys!" He wasted no time bubbling the gemstone and sending it back to the house.

"Well guess that mess is over with," sighed Peridot, "Now then, let's resume work on the houses!"

* * *

Later… Steven was currently tossing and turning in his bed. The rest of the night went smoothly as Peridot and Bismuth got along much better in fixing up the houses and letting him fall asleep peacefully. That all changed when he suddenly found himself back in Red Diamond's containment pod with no visible way out. He yelled for help but no sound escaped his mouth. He tried summoning his sword and shield, but they refused to cooperate. He began wondering what to do now until someone else appeared next to him. The figure was shrouded in shadow so he couldn't make out their face. The only thing he saw were two eyes glowing faintly, looking directly at him. Then the cloaked figure began chuckling at him, amused as he slowly backed away.

"W-Who are you? How did I get here?" he asked, trying to keep his voice level.

"Why should I tell you?" asked the stranger, "Aren't you supposed to be the hero here?"

"N-No, I mean yes, I mean-ugh! Just help get out of here, please?"

The figure laughed cruelly, apparently thinking his request was hilarious, and soon the shadows disappeared to reveal a familiar face: Onyx. She looked exactly the same, only she seemed more bipedal and the feral gem's face was more humanoid in appearance.

"And to think this is what My Diamond had me hunting… I never would have guessed that lion is where all of Nekoite's power came from."

"That's not true! I-"

"What? You're gonna say how you've done plenty by yourself? How you managed to turn the Diamonds around and save your little planet?"

"Yes! It wasn't just me, though, it was the rest of the Crystal Gems too!"

"And there's your problem…" she chuckled as she circled around him, "Always needing those other Gems to save you. It's like a pup running home to his mother after getting hurt in a fight! It's almost cute."

"What?! That's not…" he yelled before stopping himself, "I don't care about that, alright? It doesn't matter who did what or if I did it alone."

In the blink of an eye, she pounced on him and had him trapped under her against the floor. Steven tried summoning a bubble to push her away, but his powers still would not work. He could not even stop the drool falling onto him from her hungry jaws as she licked her lips.

"Look at you! You think you can save everyone and yet you couldn't even beat me alone! One measly Gem and it took that other Diamond's pearl AND you being fused to stop me! What will you do when Red Diamond sends an army for you? What if she kidnaps all of your friends in your sleep? What if she's even controlling you right now?!"

"STOP IT!"

"Stop what!? Telling the truth about how weak you really are!?"

At this point, Steven felt his rage boil over. His gem began to glow brightly and soon Onyx was forced back. Suddenly the glow began to come from his entire body, actually turning his body a bright pink color. Slowly he stood up and he was clearly cross, "I am NOT! WEAK!" His voice was slightly distorted but the more noticeable part was his tone. For once, Steven was done talking. He then began to rush at Onyx at breakneck speed! The lupine Gem looked pleasantly surprised as she ran to meet him. When their punches collided, the pod around them exploded into thousands of pieces from the force. A bolt of lightning lit up the stormy sky above them as they flew away from each other. Steven immediately brought out his sword and shield while Onyx bared her fangs and roared in approval as the boy charged at her.

Each swing of his sword carried enough power and force to turn boulders into pebbles. Each punch and kick of hers would have been strong enough to break any ordinary Gem in half but the two seemed equally matched as rain began pouring down on them from above. When the two met in another deadlock, him blocking a kick of hers with the flat of his blade, he yelled, "Enough! Why can't you all just leave Earth alone?!"

"Why?!" she taunted back, clearly having the time of her life, "Because you know you'll fall?! So all your other friends don't have to pick up your shards when we're done?! If you want us to go, give up! Give yourself to My Diamond!"

"I will…"

He then smashed his shield into her with enough energy to send her flying for miles. She stopped when he appeared behind her and sent the pommel of his blade straight into her back.

"...When the Earth is safe from MONSTERS LIKE YOU!"

Onyx yelled in pain from the blow, but her smile never left. In fact she looked even happier as she tried to claw his face off.

"Finally! Prove why Red Diamond wants you!"

Steven obliged as he held his sword with both hands and leapt hundreds of feet into the air and screamed loud enough to deafen the thunder ringing out around the fight as he zoomed back towards his foe. Onyx, rather than move or dodge, had the widest grin possible on her face and stood ready to take his attack full-force. The distance between them closed in the blink of an eye and soon he saw the manic smile she had. His anger reignited and soon the tip of his blade was inches away from teeth…

* * *

…And then Steven fell out of his bed, his body slightly covered in sweat. It took him a few minutes to register what happened, but soon it clicked.

"That was… A dream…?" Steven looked at his body. He was shocked, he was glowing pink! Just like in his dream! "What the!?" Steven was split between curiosity and absolute panic. He gingerly picked himself up off the floor and tried to check he still was not dreaming. He then saw himself in the mirror and began to freak out a little bit. "Oh geez, what's happening to me!?"

Over time, he felt like he needed to calm down. Taking a few deep breaths, he began to relax, even if only just a bit. Eventually he saw that he stopped glowing. "Okay," he said to himself, "I'm back to normal."

As he got his bearings back, he suddenly looked at the temple door and thought of something. His vivid dream came back to him and soon his feet started moving on their own until he was standing right in front of the door. He opened the way to the Burning Room and, while surprised at how empty it was compared to the past, was only focused on the pink bubble holding the Gem from yesterday. One brief hop into the air and he had the bubble in his hands. He looked around and checked to see if anyone else was around, there wasn't. He looked at the gem bubbled up in his hands. Then he said, "I must be crazy for trying this…" He then popped it, and placed the gem gently on the ground…

...And soon found a very different Gem standing in front of him. He still had the same color, gem placement, but this Wulfenite looked far different. He stood on two legs, had wild, quill-like hair, and two very visible eyes looking down at Steven and actually looked frightened. "Wh-Who are you?" he asked in a startled tone, "Where am I? What's going on!?"

"Uh, you don't remember?" Steven asked curiously.

"Remember what? The last I recall was being thrown in a pen by that creepy Pearl and the next thing I know, I end up here!"

"Wait… 'Creepy Pearl'? You mean Red Pearl?"

"Yes, her! The way she treats everyone is just…" he shuddered for a second before continuing, "She wouldn't let me eat for weeks!"

Steven was unnerved by this; he knew that gems took in light the same way humans need to eat and drink for sustenance. He then said, "Okay, I think we need to talk about this somewhere else…"

"Wait, what?" the poor Wulfenite said.

"It's fine, you're safe now."

Steven carefully took the poor Gem's hand, which unnerved the poor thing. It seemed obvious that he never encountered organic life before. Steven then opened the door back to the main house. It took a bit of coaxing and assurance that no one would try hurting him before he would walk through the doorway, let alone sit on the couch. Even after he sat down, his eyes were constantly darting from place to place.

"Let's start with a name," Steven said in a calming tone, "You're a Wulfenite right?" The nervous gem nodded, Steven then proceeded, "My name is Steven Universe, and I'm… sort of a hybrid. Half-human, half-gem."

The Gem nodded, clearly not used to conversation either. Steven decided to let him talk when he felt ready and continued.

"What are you like?"

"I'm Wulfenite Facet 4, Cut 4XA," he replied automatically, "I'm supposed to provide power and electrical engineering to Gem facilities."

"Okay, good! Do you like working with electricity?"

"Y-yes," he replied meekly, suddenly nervous again, "My supervisors said I could be made head of my unit with a bit more training but…"

"But what?"

"I… Stopped working and I can't remember why… The only other thing I remember is…"

"Red Pearl?"

"Yes!" he yelped, "She treats me like I'm some mindless creature, doesn't let me do my job and keeps going on about some hybrid her Diamond wants to capture! It's the worst!"

Steven started to sweat as he realized just how confused the poor soul in front of him was.

Before he could go on, the door open and Pearl walked in on her way to do some stretches in her room. As she moved past them, Wulfenite's eyes suddenly went wide and sparks began to run across his arm.

The sudden crackling noise did not escape Pearl's attention and she saw the new Gem there. "Oh, hello there! Steven, is this a new uncorrupted Gem?"

Wulfenite shouted in fear and suddenly a bolt of lightning flew from his outstretched arms right at Pearl! She dodged the attack out of reflex. Steven immediately tried to get Wulfenite attention. "Whoa, Wulfenite! Please, calm down! This isn't her! That's not Red's Pearl!"

"How do you know?!" he snapped back, his mood shifting again, "It sounds just like her! It could be some disguise!"

"Trust me, she's a friend! The only things she hates are yellow mold and tyranny!"

"And wrinkled clothes!" she added.

The electricity coursing through Wulfenite seemed to calm down, but he still stared right at her. Pearl simply backed up and eventually moved back outside while Steven tried to reassure him nothing bad would happen.

Eventually he calmed down, "Sorry… I just… Don't want to go through that pain again… The torture…"

Steven looked worried for this Gem. "I'll be right back. If anything else scares you just say something and I'll be here, alright?" The electric gem nodded as Steven turned and headed outside where he found Pearl watching through the window.

"Steven, what is going on?!" she yelled, "Who is that and why does he sound terrified of me?"

The boy went through the short version of last night's events at the power plant and the urge he had this morning to try and fix the Gem. The only thing he completely left out was his turning pink when he woke up.

Pearl was surprised, and a bit shocked, "So… he's one of Red's soldiers!?"

This in turn shocked Wulfenite who heard her from inside, "What, soldier! No… I'm not a fighter, I'm just an electrician! I was originally made for Yellow Diamond!"

"Oh boy," groaned Steven, "I think there's something you need to hear…"

Steven gave him the same explanation he gave to all of the Earth gems a while back. About his mother about the gem rebellion, and how he changed the Diamond's way of thinking. He also told him about what Red diamond was up to and even about Black Diamond.

By the time he was done, Wulfenite looked about ready to pass out if he wasn't already sitting, "That… that all happened…?"

"Y-yeah, it happened," Steven said, "We're trying our best to deal with Red Diamond's forces."

Wulfenite was slowly trying to process this information, "And you're Rose's… 'son'?"

"Yeah, long story there, but the bottom line is the rest of the Diamonds are all good now except for Red. And she… Turned you into a psycho electric-wolf that tried to maul me last night."

"B-But… I never wanted to hurt anyone. I… I did that… !?" the poor gem looked shocked!

"It's okay! You weren't you!" Steven said reassuringly, "You were under Red's control!"

That remark saddened Wulfenite, then Pearl said, "It's alright. We saved you. You never have to worry about being under her control ever again."

Unfortunately for Pearl, that was not the case as the collar around his neck suddenly glowed to life and sent searing pain throughout his body. Steven and Pearl tried to get the choker off of him, but an electric barrier surrounded him as he shouted in agony and his body began to change back to how it was last night. And with no obvious electricity to feed on around him, the rabid Wulfenite roared right at the two Crystal Gems and sent them both flying with a bolt of lightning straight to their faces.

As the two laid on the sand, lightly smoking from the blast, they tried to get themselves back up.

"Sorry Pearl," said Steven, trying to get his legs to work, "But I guess bringing him out was a bad idea…"

"No, it wasn't," she insisted, "Wulfenite is clearly acting like this against his will. That collar seems to be the catalyst so if we can get it off him he should revert to normal."

Steven looked, and she was right! The collar seemed to be glowing a deep red! It was some kind of mind control collar! "Right!" He said, bringing out his sword and shield. Even if he could not hit his foe, he felt confident the two of them could snatch the collar without too many shocks. He tried to approach the creature, only the Wulfenite suddenly leapt out of the way and zapped Steven a bit.

"Steven!" Pearl yelled out in alarm. This caused the monster to turn and look in her direction.

"I don't care who you are. No one hurts a hair on his head!" She leapt right at the creature and nimbly dodged out of the way when his quills fired off more bolts at her. She got a few inches away from the collar before he jumped into the air and landed on one of the roofs to the new houses.

Steven and Pearl both jumped after him but the gem was hopping from building to building. Eventually, they reached the end of the construction site only a few hundred feet from the edge of Beach City proper. Once all three were on top of the last house, the Crystal Gems were surprised when Wulfenite suddenly turned around and tried charging right at them. Before he could get too close, Steven conjured his shield and managed to throw it at his legs to trip him. The problem is that it also caused him to crash with enough force to break through the roof and tumble straight into the empty house with Steven falling in with him while Pearl leapt to safety.

The boy managed to pick himself up from the fall just in time to see Wulfenite swing his claws at him, the tips full of lightning, and hastily threw up his sword to deflect it in his confusion. That proved to be the wrong move as the beast smacked the blade straight out of his hand and numb his arm.

"Steven!" yelped Pearl as she tore open the front door to reach the two, "You're arm!"

"Don't worry, it'll get feeling again soon," he assured but soon he was blown straight through the wall by Wulfenite's electricity and sent clean through the next house.

Watching the child she raised get pummeled caused Pearl to charge forward, yelling defiantly and ready to swing her spear. The creature tried zapping her with his quills, but she threw her weapon to take the blast while getting her hands around his neck. She reached for his neck, but the monster started bucking around wildly and slammed her into the walls enough to make the entire dwelling collapse on top of them. When Wulfenite ripped himself free from the rubble, Pearl was still there and was clinging for her life until she was roughly thrown off into yet another half-finished house.

"Pearl!" Steven yelled in a panic. The creature then began to approach her, causing the scenario to resemble something out of a horror movie. This struck Steven's core, he had to do something. He was not just going to just let some creature hurt his family…!

Just as the creature pounced, which would have surely finished off Pearl first, Steven, in a rush of high speed, tackled the gem monster midair!

A pink Steven…

Pearl groaned as she shook off the impact, but when she stood up again she could hardly believe what she saw. Steven's entire body was glowing pink, made more prominent by his darker clothes, and grappled the creature with his bare hands. The monster let off a shock across his body, but Steven barely flinched. Instead he flung Wulfenite hundreds of feet into the air with a casual fling of his arms before rocketing quickly after him. As they both rose higher and higher, the best tried one last offensive and discharged every ounce of power he had. It was a full-on lightning bolt as big as one generated from an actual storm and generated a clap of thunder when it hit him and the boy briefly stopped his ascent as he yelled in pain.

"STEVEN!" hollered Pearl from below, rushing her way up to him as fast as she could. She feared that even for him it would be enough electricity to stop his heart…

"ENOUGH ALREADY!" Steven screamed as a massive wave of force rippled off his body. Not only did it free him from the lightning it sent Pearl shooting back down to Earth hard enough to make a crater in the sand. This went unnoticed by the boy, however, as he flew straight at the now-drained beast and grabbed him by his collar.

"I'm really sorry about this…" he said forcefully, "But I can't let you hurt anyone else!"

He pushed Wulfenite straight into the cliffside hard enough to indent him, but Steven was not done. He flew straight at him again, revealing he now had full control of himself in the air, and grabbed the beast by his mane before flying straight towards the ground and leaving a small trench in the side of the hill. Pearl couldn't tell what shocked her more; his power or his aggression…

With a resounding crash that could be heard for miles, Steven plowed Wulfenite into the sand hard enough to poof him instantly. The only remnants of the monster were his gemstone and a completely demolished collar. As Steven stood there, though, the rush of power suddenly faded from him. His color returned to normal as he silently knelt down and bubbled the reluctant fighter once again. Once that was done, he saw the damage done to the hill and the houses and he walked past Pearl with his head down.

"Steven…" she gaped, "What… How…"

"Later," he mumbled, still not looking at her, "Okay? I… I need to lie down."

* * *

He ended up walking back into the house asking what was wrong with him. He never acted so aggressively, so… primal before… He sat down on the couch, thinking of the dream last night. As he did so, however, his body began to glow pink again! "Ack!" Steven looked shocked… he then quietly asked himself, "What's happening to me…?"


	19. Chapter 19

Hey everyone! It's nice to be back! I wanna apologize for the hiatus, things have been hectic for me. Anyway, there was only one review for chapter 18.

kevinbellemore said "Nice job there." To you kevinbellemore, I say, thanks! I just hope that I can keep this up.

Fair bit of warning. Milo and I will be taking inspiration from Steven Universe Future for some of these plots. Anyway. I hope you guys enjoy the chapter!

And as always, please leave a review after reading the chapter. I hope that you will like this chapter.

* * *

Chapter 19: The Heart of the Matter

Once Steven did manage to fall asleep that day, it turns out the experience with Wulfenite shook more than his emotions. He was asleep for nearly 24 hours before he finally awoke the next morning. When he came to, he found Pearl watching over him.

"Good morning, Steven," she said amicably, "How do you feel?"

"Um, fine…" he shrugged as he stood up.

"Any new dreams?"

"Nope."

"Oh. Alright then."

The two stood there, the awkwardness filling the air, until Steven finally moved downstairs to find Amethyst waiting for him with a digital camera ready.

"Morning, champ!"

"Hey Amethyst," Steven said, greeting her in an awkward tone.

"Come on, up and at 'em, let's see it!" she said excitedly while raising the camera to her eye.

"Amethyst, knock it off!" said Pearl, "We shouldn't force him to do that again, it clearly disturbs him."

"Aw come on, it sounds so cool!"

"Whoa, hold on, what are you talking about?" said the boy.

"Pink Steven, of course! You told Pearl yesterday that it first happened when you woke up and since I missed all the awesomeness yesterday I want to get a picture for myself! Now go on, glow it up!"

"That's not a good idea," said Garnet, appearing from the warp pad, "He'll do that again when he's ready."

"Exactly!" agreed Pearl. Although, Amethyst's remarks were a bit unnerving to Steven… Eventually, he flashed pink again.

"Oh-ho, there it is!" cheered Amethyst and quickly started snapping pictures, "Quick, do something cool!"

Rather than reply, Steven just bolted out the door still in his pajamas… and took the door with him. "Steven!" he heard someone call out to him, but he just ran…

… Only to be stopped by Lion at the bottom of the stairs. The animal just stared at him, the first person not fazed by his new appearance and nuzzled his head against the boy. This calmed Steven down a bit and caused the glow to fade.

"Heh, thanks Lion," the boy said, "But I should probably go somewhere else and-"

The feline stopped him and started pushing him back up the stairs towards the waiting Crystal Gems.

"Lion, what is it? I just need some space and-"

Rather than listen, Lion roared open a portal behind the hybrid and then pushed him in with his front paws and soon Steven fell into the arms of a waiting Garnet.

"Told them you wouldn't be gone long," she said calmly while setting him down.

"Steven, we didn't mean to startle you," Pearl said, "It's just…"

"We thought we could try and help with whatever junk is going on with you, y'know? Although that thing with the door was pretty cool…" said Amethyst. That seemed to calm Steven down fully as he went back upstairs to gather his things and get ready for the day.

"Once you're done," said Garnet, "We can all head somewhere and start figuring this out. Trust me, we've been through odd times before and we won't give up now."

Steven stopped for a second, then after a pause, he said, "Thanks guys…"

After a few minutes to go through his familiar morning routine, he was dressed and had his hot dog duffel bag. "Okay… I'm ready." His three guardians all stood on the warp pad and soon all four were brought to one of the last places Steven expected to be: the remnants of the Lunar Sea Spire.

"Whoa!" gasped Steven, "How long has it been since we've been here?"

"Not long by Gem standards," said Pearl, "And we figured it would be the perfect place for a situation like this."

"Turns out there's a few rooms that are still intact down below," said Amethyst, "I went snooping here for junk once a while ago and found it there's way more to this place."

"Whoa," Steven said, "So, we can still go here even after well… that failed mission?"

"Steven, you do remember that was just a test?" reminded Pearl, "And frankly one we didn't think through very well…"

"Oh yeah. Hey, you think there's any way we can fix this place someday? With so many more Gems now, there's gotta be something we can do."

Garnet smiled then said, "Maybe. Time will tell," while adjusting her glasses. With a bit of work the four made their way down a winding set of stairs and ended up in a large underground chamber. It was a circular area and the ceiling above their heads was transparent, showing a large body of water. "Whoa…" Steven was practically speechless; these places never get old for the hybrid.

"Now then, let's try to make this power happen," said Garnet calmly.

"Wait, what?"

"As scary as it might be, Steven," said Pearl, "This power of yours isn't inherently a bad thing. After all, it is the reason you were able to stop Wulfenite."

"But… I trashed the houses and I nearly hurt you and-"

"Dude, come on," chuckled Amethyst, "You don't we've all smashed some stuff up doing our thing? Maybe we should stop by the communication hub that we completely leveled like five times over to prove it." Pearl blushed silently at that remark, remembering the whole Sardonyx situation… Garnet seemingly didn't react.

While Steven saw the point there, he still felt nervous channeling that feeling again. It was one thing for it to pop up in a nightmare, but having it happen in real life was overwhelming. Not to mention he already demolished this place once and there would be no telling if it could survive another disaster like that. Unfortunately that same sense of doubt made his body pink again startling him, "Oh jeez…"

"Don't worry," assured Garnet, "Just tell us how you feel."

"Well, I feel…" Steven tried to describe how he felt, "I feel… nervous? Scared? A little bit tense. And everything kinda tingles."

"Well, that's a start," said Pearl, "Now from a cursory glance, it seems to be triggered by negative emotions in a similar manner to how your abilities started surfacing months ago. This logically means that tempering your feelings should result in this dying down as seen when Lion helped you relax earlier."

"So…" Steven said, "This… pink glow is like some kind of mood ring thing?"

"In a way, yes. So all we have to do now is make it less sporadic and make so that this only happens on command."

"And the best way to do that," elaborated Garnet, "Is training both your body and mind."

Steven gave her a determined look and said, "Alright then, I'm willing to give this a shot."

Garnet smiled upon that response, "Well then, no time like the present. The first thing we can try is meditation."

Steven and Garnet both sat in lotus position with Garnet leading them. While she had Steven regulate his breathing, she also guided him to try to find the source of this new power.

"Look inside yourself," she said as Steven inhaled and exhaled, "Just like all your other abilities, it is all a part of yourself. Just because it's new doesn't mean it's something you should fear."

As he heard that, his memories flashed back to yesterday and the damage caused to the new houses. The more he recalled, the more the feeling overcame him until his body flashed pink for a moment and suddenly another wave of force came and made a dent in the floor.

"Hmmmm…" noticed Garnet, "It seems like it's buried rather deep down in there."

"Steven, open your eyes," said Pearl as she walked up to him, "I may not know what you're feeling but I know you would never try to hurt someone. You don't have to run from this."

Steven, however, was internally fighting this overbearing sense of dread. And fear... He knew that Pearl was right, that he was one of the most kind-hearted people in the galaxy. But thinking of that battle again, he ended up remembering something else. The dream…

"Y-Yeah…" Steven said, trying desperately to ignore, to deny what his memories were telling him. He felt his body tremble. And then the words the dream-Onyx said to him that night entered his mind…

"Stop what!? Telling the truth about how weak you really are!?"

"Get out!" he shouted, causing all three of the Crystal Gems to jump in alarm as not only did he flash pink again but this time a literal wall made of pink hexagons appear around him.

"Uh, dude, are you talking to us?" asked Amethyst, tentatively poking at the barrier around him.

"What? No, I…" he then noticed the barrier around him, "Where'd this come from?!"

"You just made it," explained Pearl, now getting more alarmed, "You shouted like someone was attacking you and then it just appeared."

"B-But I didn't mean to… I just had this weird dream last night and then-"

"Weird dream?" Pearl's question only gave Steven a pang of guilt. "It… it's nothing…" Steven tried to focus… slowly but surely the barrier vanished, only the hybrid still felt a bit uneasy.

"Are you sure?" she asked a bit.

"Y-Yeah," Steen said, albeit in an unconvincing tone, "I'm sure…"

"Steven," chided Garnet, "This is not something you should be running from. Repressing feelings almost never turns out well."

"Yeah, man," said Amethyst, "I've blown my mouth off a few times but I just say whatever's on my mind and I turn out fine. It's like this one time when Jasper called me a runt last week so I turned around and told her that-"

"Hold it," interrupted Steven, "Jasper is still picking on you?"

Steven was suddenly annoyed, remembering Nekoite's eager fight against her. Suddenly he said loudly, "I said I'm FINE!"

His pink glow came back, and he didn't look happy. He then shook his head in an attempt to snap out of it.

"Hey man, it's not that big a deal," attempted Amethyst, "Jasper's still way better than before! It's not like that time she kidnapped everyone or-"

That was the exact wrong thing to say as yet another painful memory cropped up in Steven's head - him waking up on board a spaceship with a black eye and all of his friends about to be dragged off to Homeworld...

"...Steven?" said Pearl, noticing how his eyes seemed unfocused, "Can you hear me?"

His eyes snapped to attention as the memory of Jasper smashing a fist into his face came about. The anger flashed for only a second, but it was enough for him to sock Pearl in the face hard enough to send her sprawling into a wall and even left a tiny crack in her gemstone.

"What the heck!?" was Amethyst's reply.

Garnet immediately Grabbed at Steven, saying, "Steven, whatever you are seeing, it isn't there! Wake up!"

Slowly but surely Steven's sight began to snap back into focus… And the second he saw what he did made him burst into tears. He ran over to Pearl, not noticing that he was still glowing pink and moving at ridiculous speed, and quickly applied a gob of his saliva to the fracture. It healed quickly, but it was obvious that Steven was more damaged than any of them thought.

"We should go home," said Garnet plainly. When Steven still had not budged, she resorted to picking him up off the floor as he continued sobbing until he seemed to exhaust himself. By the time they warped home, Steven had returned to normal but was knocked out once again.

* * *

Later he woke up, in his bed, in his room. When he woke up he did not see any of the gems, but his father sitting next to him.

"Feeling good with some beauty sleep, kiddo?" he asked jokingly.

"Dad! When did you get here?" the boy asked while giving his old man a hug.

"Pearl called me. She told me to be here when you woke since the rest of the gems have something to do. Are you feeling alright? You've been out for about three hours now."

Steven however began to remember a bit… what he did to Pearl….

In a matter of seconds he became pink again! Something that shocked Greg. "Whoa! Steven!?"

Seeing his arms light up again, Steven yelped in surprise and ended up shocking himself right out of it.

"Ooookay… Let me guess, long story?"

"No, actually. This only started yesterday, but now it won't go away!"

"Another Gem thing, huh?" Greg said, a bit nervous now, "W-Well if anyone can figure this out Schtu-ball, it's you…"

"Yeah, but I don't wanna keep punching people through walls at this rate."

"You know what? I think I might actually have an idea…"

"Really?! What is it?"

"Steven, you're almost 15. Sort of... Now you might be half-Gem, but if there's one thing all teenagers go through it's a phase."

Steven looked at his father and said, "I don't know about that…"

"Well, let me tell you a few of the things me and some other guys in high school went through. Your body's doing some weird things you're not used to, you start getting all moody for no reason, you grow a whole bunch, and suddenly you start looking at everything differently, especially girls."

Steven immediately felt grossed out… And then Jamie's comment about Connie came back to him, but the only thing that turned pink were his cheeks.

"Uh…"

"See? Kid, even if this is really weird, it is something every person goes through at some point. And it may get ugly, but trust me when I say you're gonna come out better because of it. You were a great kid, but once this is all done you'll be an even better man."

"Maybe…" Steven wasn't fully confident, but at least his mood wasn't so bad anymore, "Thanks, Dad."

Greg smiled warmly, "You know what might help? A little time away from all this. How about we just do something fun today?"

Steven thought about it for a second, but suddenly he said "Sorry dad... I think I'll pass…"

"Steven?"

"I think I need some time to try and sort this out…" He then stood up from his bed, "I'm gonna go for a walk…" He began to head to the Warp Pad and his father worried how he had no idea where the boy would end up.

* * *

Eventually, Steven wandered into the woodland outskirts of Beach City. The place seemed peaceful, but soon the landscape changed to the point even he could not ignore. The lush trees and gentle grass gave way to barren dirt and destroyed trunks for miles around. His immediate thought was a fire ravaged the area, but nothing seemed burnt. The only landmark was a small cluster of rocks with a small entrance across the way with several boulders piled up around the outside. This struck Steven as curious, so he began to approach the area. He eventually heard some grunts of effort from very close by. And by a voice that was familiar…

"What are you doing here?!" Steven immediately saw the source of the voice. It was Jasper, training.

Steven nearly launched himself into the air out of shock, but managed to keep himself grounded. "Jasper?! What is all this?"

"My private training ground."

Steven took another look at the decimated trees and the barren ground and suddenly a thought hit him. "Did… Did you do all this?"

"Yeah. So what?"

"'So what?!' All of these plants were alive! You can't just destroy them all!"

That actually got Jasper to chuckle. "Really? Who's gonna stop me? If you want a rematch, go get that Lion of yours and maybe Nekoite could convince me."

"No. I'm telling you what you're doing is wrong."

Jasper then walked right towards him, looming over the hybrid and clearly fed up with his presence. "If you don't want a fight, then beat it!"

"No!"

"Are you asking me to clobber you?!"

The memory of Jasper's first arrival played through his head again, but this time more vividly. He remembered the sneer on her face as she poofed Garnet right in front of him, the fear and helplessness that overtook him. His body flashed pink again as Jasper got inches away from his face.

"I don't care if you're part Diamond! You're still just as weak as any other earthling! Now either you beat it or I'm going to make you seriously regret coming here!"

She did not seem to notice his change in color, but she did see him completely ignoring her threat.

"Alright, that's it! You asked for it!" She threw a punch right to his nose, but his hand caught it so fast she could not see the reaction.

"Stop… Please…" he whispered, "Don't make me like this…"

"Is this some kind of joke?!" she growled as she brought out her crash helmet, "I'll teach you to make fun of me!"

She sent a headbutt straight at him, but with one flick of his arm he flung Jasper a hundred feet away. The soldier gem quickly got back on her feet, but Steven was already behind her.

"Oh, so you do want a fight?" she said, almost sounding impressed, "Are you finally done being a weakling?"

Steven shook his head, but still raised his fists. Jasper flashed an excited smile before leaping high into the air and tried to land a flying kick only to be stopped when a shield appeared. This was not his usual bubble, though. It was a near-circular collection of hexagons in a honeycomb-like pattern that stopped the warrior gem dead in her tracks. The panel her foot touched suddenly flew off like a projectile, trying to take her with it, but instead, she backflipped back to the ground. Slowly, she got up, only to see Steven standing right in front of her. His glowing body started to tremble, but the gem was still too angry to notice.

She tried kicking him away, but his usual shield appeared and stopped her. She tried twisting herself into a kick with her other leg, but he swept his shield under both her feet to make her fall down again. He tried to punch her while she was down, but she rolled into her ball form and sped away before he could touch her. She then tried to roll into him, picking up so much speed that the ground smoked under her, and jumped into a punch at the last second. The blow landed right to Steven's face…

...And then Jasper recoiled in pain. She may not have had any bones in her arm, but the pain she felt was excruciating. Looking up, she saw Steven's face was barely fazed by the blow and instead was frozen in place. His expression was a far cry from the happy-go-lucky kid that most people knew and loved.

And yet, it only served to enrage Jasper even more, "You think you can take me on!?"

"Stop it!" yelled Steven, "I… I can't… I don't want to hurt people…"

"What are you babbling about?!" She charged at him with her helmet once again, but this time Steven sent a fist straight into her gut with enough force to send her flying back.

"I'm not like them!" he shouted to no one, visions of so many painful experiences flashing through his mind with his eyes clenched shut. Yellow Diamond wanting to blow up the Earth, Blue Diamond kidnapping his father, both of them crashing Garnet's wedding, White Diamond trying to remove his gem…

"Get a grip!" Jasper demanded, "Get out of your head and into the fight!"

Steven opened his eyes and suddenly rocketed forward. Before Jasper could even blink, he smashed his foot into her jaw and sent her flying. He literally flew after and then kicked back down to Earth with enough force to make a sonic boom. Once she got up from the crater she made, Jasper stood up to see Steven still in mid-air with his face in his hands. This actually made Jasper stop for a second. Steven was in pain, mentally at least, as he tried desperately to block out the sense of self-hatred that he was feeling, "I… don't… I don't wanna fight!"

"What the…?" she muttered to herself, finally realizing something was wrong.

Before she could do anything, though, Steven suddenly slammed down to the ground with enough force to make a small earthquake.

"Help me!" he cried as his glow became brighter, but Jasper was completely stuck.

"What do you expect me to do?!" she demanded, "Unless you want me to beat the problem away, I've got nothing!"

The boy barely opened his eyes and saw the dirt field beneath him again. He looked to the side to see the destroyed trees, anything to distract himself from the enraged power that felt ready to destroy him.

"Why…?" he muttered, "Why do all this? What did plants… ever do to you?"

"Huh?! What's that got to do with anything?"

"Just tell me!" he yelled with a voice hundreds of times louder than normal, a small crater actually formed around him… This knocked Jasper back greatly. She felt bruised and battered, but when she got up and looked at Steven's direction. He was still.

That last surge of energy was evidently too much for the hybrid to handle, knocking him unconscious. He was now only glowing faintly, and said gem glow was fading away leaving him looking normal again.

Jasper started at the unconscious body before her, then simply shook her head in disbelief.

She then approached him and picked him up, "Geez, who's ever heard of a Diamond who can't even handle their own power."

Then, in an act of pity, she actually turned in the direction of her camp, and actually began to carry Steven there. She moved to pick the boy up, but suddenly out of his closed eye came a single glowing pink teardrop. It splashed on the dirt ground and soon a few blades of grass began poking through.

"What the?"

The strangeness did not stop, though, as the grass soon began to grow like wildfire from that spot and soon the barren patch Jasper had made across the past few miles was instantly regrown.

About an hour later, Steven finally came to and woke up to see himself in a makeshift hut made of stacked boulders with a small fire burning in the middle while a light rainstorm fell outside.

"Wha-?" Needless to say, the young hybrid was confused.

"About time," gruffed Jasper, staring outside.

Steven then noticed the greenery outside and his confusion grew. "I thought you ripped up all the grass."

"I did. Thanks to you, now I have to start over."

"Bwuh? I… I did this?"

"Beats me how. You cried a bit just before passing out and then this happened."

The boy sat down again and looked down at the gem in his shirt. "I really don't get all this. First I go berserk against Wulfenite, then against you and then this?"

Jasper stayed silent for a change as he kept rambling. "I don't know what this is, where it came from or even what it does! I want answers, but not if it ends up hurting everyone I care about! What am I supposed to do?!"

That was when the bruiser stood up and clamped a hand over his mouth. "First off, stop whining. That's not gonna get you anywhere except a kick from me."

When she let her hand go, the boy was silent. "Second, you've got this power you don't know? Stop running from it."

"Huh? But what if someone gets hurt?"

"Can't you heal gems?"

"Yeah, but-"

"As long as they aren't shattered then you fix them and move on. And what did I say about whining?!"

"Okay… Then what?"

"What you do with it is up to you. Power means whatever you want it to mean."

She then walked outside and grabbed one of the boulders. "And for me it means THIS!"

She summoned her helmet and smashed it to pebbles with a single hit.

Steven looked on as she performed this feat of strength. He stayed silent nonetheless, suspecting that she would proceed and say something else. However, a part of him began to think about what she just said.

"You know, I think you're right. Maybe the problem is just how I've been going about this."

Jasper merely looked at him for a second before she said, "Heh, I guess I can help with that."

"Wait, what?" Steven was shocked and was trying to make sure he understood what Jasper was saying.

However, she confirmed his thoughts by snarky saying, "Hey, I'm not offering to help for you. I just think it would be a waste if Pink's 'son' ended up as some unstable defect."

"Uh… okay?"

"Now get out of here," she said pointing outside, "And you better not tell any of those Crystal Gems where I am or else I will make you regret it."

Despite the threat, the boy's spirits still felt high as he headed home. As he noticed the rain still falling, he also realized he did not have an umbrella with him but he did have a solution. He summoned a bubble to keep him dry and simply walked him with it around him all the way home.

As Jasper watched him leave this way, she felt a small twinge of pride to see him actually taking her advice. It was moments like this that made her grateful she lived alone. If anyone saw her going soft like this, she would have to clobber too many heads to count to get them quiet.

* * *

Eventually Steven was able to head back to the house. He looked at it and smiled, construction was finally done on a few of the new houses. Now it was only a matter of time for some of the gems to move in any day now. He was taken out of this happy thought when he saw his mother's original pearl standing right next to the regular Pearl.

"Hello. Steven, right?" she said in a calm, polite tone.

"Uh… yeah," Steven replied, "What brings you here?"

"The other Diamonds," she said simply, her single eye blinking as she spoke, "They wish to speak to you about information concerning Red Diamond."

A curious Steven followed her inside the house. There he saw that there were holographic screens of Yellow, Blue, White, and Black already there along with their Pearls who stood in the room with their projectors and a screen ready for them to take notes.

Steven then stepped forward, "Uh… hey guys."

"Steven, hello again!" Blue said cheerfully.

"Indeed," White added smiling. She then addressed all of them at once, "Now that we are assembled, it is time for Black Diamond to share some information he found."

"Thank you," replied the only other male Diamond, "And I'm afraid that some images my new Rose Quartz assistants discovered were quite alarming."

His pearl, looking far more stoic than Steven had ever seen him, silently motioned to bring the images in question on display. It showed none other than Red herself staring directly at the camera with a massive pile of gemstones almost as tall as she was. Her arms were spread, showing off her new bounty, and she smiled to the camera almost as if she was thanking the others for their gift.

"Whoa!" gasped Steven, "Where did she get that many new gems?!"

"From a refueling station orbiting a group of in-progress colonies about seven galaxies over from yours," answered Black.

"This is troublesome," replied Yellow, "If she's getting this audacious then she must be growing in power. We've yet to get an exact count of the number of gems under her, but this can only mean she's bolstering her numbers."

"Oh no, those poor souls!" trembled Blue, "We can't just let her experiment on them!"

"Agreed," said White, "That's why I propose an operation to-"

"Hold on," interrupted Steven as something Black said clicked in his head, "What did Black say about those colonies?"

"Hm? Oh, that they were in the colonization process. A few cursory reports show none of them were very far along, but nonetheless-"

"'Colonization process?' You mean you guys are STILL taking over planets?!"

"Well yes," replied Yellow frankly, "Naturally."

"However," encouraged Blue, "We are instituting far more reasonable working conditions, making job specialization less strict and have recently allowed Off-Colors to become part of the labor force!"

However, Steven was still shocked at what he just learned. They were still colonizing other worlds… "B-But, what if those planets have life on them?! J-Just like the Earth, I mean, I've been on one of Yellow's failed colonies and-"

"Steven, relax!" insisted Yellow, "Trust us when we say that the process has become much smoother since your ideas have been implemented."

"I don't want it to go smoother! I want it to stop!"

"Stop?" said White, "You want us to return to our original hierarchy?"

"NO! I want you all to stop taking over planets! All of them! Forever!"

The four Diamonds took in what he said. They read his expression and saw how completely serious he was. Even the Pearls all looked surprised by the intensity in his voice.

And then all four of the rulers burst into hysterical laughter! Steven could barely believe it when he saw Yellow doubled over, Blue trying her keep herself from shedding more tears, White actually fell over and was having her laughing fit off-screen. The only exception of the monarchs was Black who just looked so disappointed that he seemed ready to call the whole thing off.

Then came a truly awkward pause. "Oh," said White, "You earnestly meant that."

"DUH!" shouted Steven, "I can't believe you guys!"

"Neither can I," said Black scornfully, "After all the chaos that your obsession with conquest caused with Pink, I'd think you all would learn something."

"You two, I understand that it isn't a pleasant reality," said Blue, "But it must be done.

"Really?!" argued Steven, "How many planets do you have already?!"

"Counting only completed colonies," said Yellow nonchalantly, "23,108."

Steven felt his heart nearly stop hearing that. When it started beating again, it was hammering against his chest. "You have tens of thousands of worlds and that isn't enough?!"

"Steven, please settle down," assuaged Blue, "Gem production is very costly in mineral resources and-"

"Why do you even need more gems?! You guys live forever unless something kills you! Where do all these new gems go?!"

"Into colonizing more planets," explained White simply, "It's a remarkably sustainable system."

"For a supreme being with a pan-galactic empire," drawled Black, "It's astonishing you don't know what circular reasoning is."

"Oh really? And I suppose you are so qualified to comment on our leadership based on your distinct lack of experience running an empire?"

"White, stop it!" said Yellow, but she was ignored.

"That inexperience came because of a bigoted moron whose superinflated ego blinded her to the fact that her own empire was falling apart!"

"Please stop!" cried Blue, "We're supposed to be past this!"

"Do you want me to send you off to another solar system?!" dared White.

"The day I leave you to your own devices again is the day I leap into a black hole!"

"SHUT UP!" Everyone stopped what they were doing and went to the source of the unnaturally loud voice. It was Steven. A pink Steven. And he was livid…

"Steven…?" White said.

Steven, however, was not having any of it. The Diamonds all gasped when he looked up at them and saw his eyes. Not only was he glaring daggers, his pupils had changed to the same diamond shape as theirs.

"My mom saw that this world had a chance to thrive and develop in ways that Gems could not… she gave life on this planet a chance! And… and you guys won't do the same for other planets!?"

"But Steven…" tried Yellow, "It is how we've always done things and such a massive change… How would our subjects handle that?"

"Think of something, anything! It has to be better than wiping out planets for no reason!"

"I wouldn't say there's no reason…" shrugged White, but Steven was having none of it. He literally put his foot down hard enough to rattle the foundations of the house and even leave a small crack on the floor below.

Each of the diamonds had their own reactions. Yellow's was one of shock, Blue was startled, while White simply got wide-eyes at this reaction of Steven's. Black himself was the only one who didn't seem that intimidated.

"Really?! We conquer planets just so we can make more gems so they can go out and conquer more planets! That's what you said! Are you telling me you do this just because it's fun?!"

"No, of course not!" insisted Blue, "It's just that… well… How do I put this delicately…?"

"Actually, you're not that far off," said Black grimly, "The mindset behind their whole conquest? It's because Gems are the most naturally perfect beings in the universe, crafted by hand to have all their flaws removed. Pretentious, I know, but you can thank White for writing that."

Steven was seething at this point, "Seriously?" he said in a distressingly calm tone. Said tone however, changed pretty quickly, "Hey, here's something you guys didn't seem to realize. MOM was a DIAMOND! And she wasn't perfect!"

The mention of Rose, of Pink, seemed to cut deep into the other Diamonds, even Black in a way. Steven, too incensed to realize he just overstepped, still continued, "Maybe if you realized that before, she'd still be here! And it's all your fault!"

He pointed straight at Blue. "If you ever stopped crying for five thousand years or maybe stopped kidnapping people because of your pity maybe you'd learn something!"

The Diamond finally lost control of herself and started blubbering. Thankfully for everyone else, they were all far away enough to not be affected by her powers.

"And you!" said Steven to Yellow, "Maybe if you weren't building planet-destroying weapons out of the dead bodies of your own people, then you'd finally wake up!"

The more stern matriarch did not know what he was talking about, until she remembered The Cluster. All at once she felt a sense of revulsion and guilt that made her hang her head in shame.

"And you…" he finally reached White, "You. Are. TERRIBLE! In every sense of the word! You chased Pink off! You treated Yellow and Blue like garbage and made them act so terribly! You threw Black out of your life just because he was different! You think you're so perfect?! If you really know the answer to everything, then why does everything you touch die?!"

"S...Steven… I…"

"Silence," demanded Black, "You've had this coming."

"Your empire is a dictatorship! It's literally falling apart because your head is shoved so far up your butt that you can't see it! Yellow and Blue were terrified of you! And Mom hated you so much she threw away her life, and pretended to kill herself, and she thought you wouldn't care! And then, when I finally come in and you have a chance to fix everything, you nearly kill me, brainwash all my friends and sicked a giant robot on everyone! You know what you can do, White?! DROP! DEAD!"

There was a brief pause in the air, a deafening silence that everyone was too afraid to break…

That is until Pearl herself spoke, "Steven..." It was a truly serious tone, "You may have a point to criticise them… but you don't mean that."

He then turned angrily at her… only to realize what she meant. And what he said. He then immediately lost his aggressive bravado and looked at the other screens… Then he realized… he took it too far…

"I… I have to go…" Steven slowly walked back… then ran out of the room.

"Steven," Pearl called out, but Steven ran out. She wanted to chase after him, but the glowing half-Diamond was running so fast that he was just a pink blur quickly dashing over the horizon. Pearl looked back to see all of the Diamonds just staring blankly at each other before they began recalling their respective pearls and warping away. The only exception was the pink Pearl. She had been so startled by Steven's transformation that was on the boy's bed shivering under the covers in fear.

"Oh dear…" sighed Pearl. She was half-tempted to still go after the boy, but realized that might only drive him away…

Steven meanwhile was now at the outskirts of the city. He looked down at the ground in shame. He just totally blew up right at his friends! He was never that cruel. Never! Where did he get off telling people to literally die?!

He really needed to fix this, to fix himself! Then he remembered something… Jasper's offer…

She said he was becoming unstable in a way… maybe she was right…

* * *

… It took a few minutes for Steven to remember the way to Jasper's little hut, but he was able to find it again. And there she was pounding on what seemed to be a super-thick boulder. Steven took a deep breath in and out, then approached her. "Jasper!"

The quartz stopped what she was doing and turned to look at him. He then said, "I'm ready to start. If I'm gonna have this power, I need to learn to use it."

"Lesson one." She then picked up her punching rock and flung it straight at him. The boy yelped in surprise and summoned a bubble to protect himself, but the boulder still pushed him several hundred feet away.

"Oh boy…" she groaned, "Why do I feel like I'm gonna regret this?"

* * *

The next thing he knew, Steven was in a grueling training session. When Jasper made the offer, he expected that it would be far from easy but her tasks seemed deliberately designed to punish him. Whether it was trying to leap over a small mountain in as few jumps as possible, dodging more projectiles with little to no warning or trying to do push-ups while Jasper stood on his back and tried to stomp him into the ground. And that was all in the first few hours.

By the end of the day, the boy felt like a piece of raw meat and his stomach was begging for food. It was only then that he realized he forgot to bring any actual supplies with him and he sincerely doubted Jasper had any sort of sustenance in her hideout. That meant his dinner for the night consisted of some mushrooms he hoped were not poisonous and water from a nearby lake.

Thankfully they weren't, but still, Steven had a rough night. He had to make a makeshift tent out of some heavy leaves and branches, and he had to lay on some more for a mattress. It wasn't the best night's sleep, but it would work for now…

* * *

The next day was just as taxing at first. After he had more mushrooms, Steven was currently trying to do the same exercise Jasper was trying to do; trying to break rocks with his fists alone.

He wasn't doing so great at first. So far all he managed to do to the stone in front of him was make a small dent and seriously hurt his hand. A quick gob of healing spit made it feel better, but something was not right.

"Don't use just your arm," said Jasper behind him, startling him. She pushed him aside and began winding up a punch.

"You need to put your whole body into it or else you won't get the best results." The gem then smashed the stone to pieces. Steven looked at her, then at his own fist. Then his face changed to one of determination. Approaching one of the rocks, he began to try again. It seemed fruitless at first, but within a few seconds, the rock actually began to crack. Steven was surprised for a second. Then he went determined again and threw more punches, using his whole body as Jasper suggested, within a few seconds, the rock cracked more and more… until it shattered with a final blow.

Steven looked at his handiwork and smiled. He then thought, maybe this won't be so bad…

And Jasper then swung a fallen tree like a baseball bat behind him and ended up launching him several feet. "Don't get overconfident! You managed to finish the first training exercise they put you through on Homeworld."

Once he managed to pick himself up out of the dirt, he still felt more energized than before. The warrior gem seemed to pick up on this and started getting more involved as she had him dodge more projectiles, trying to hit targets with his shield by throwing it and even had him practice his swordplay more which really took him for a loop.

"How do you know how to use one of these?" he asked.

"When you fight, you have to account for everything. And that means learning to adapt to different weapons. Just because I don't use one doesn't mean you need to restrict yourself."

"That… makes a lot of sense."

"Enough chit-chat. Get to slicing up those things." She then pointed behind her to the dead tree trunks that still littered the place. While Steven was sad that they were not fixed by his powers earlier, he had to remind himself that maybe he could fix them later. Eventually, though, he pushed these thoughts out of his mind and charged towards his first target. He swung, but he ended up getting the blade stuck halfway into the wood. Jasper looked at him before she said, "Seriously? Is that all you got!?"

Steven looked at her, then the sword then pulled, hard. He was able to pull out the sword. Then, he took a stance before saying, "Not even close…!" He redoubled his entire effort and began to swing. This time the sword went through more cleanly, slicing the wood. Steven however kept going, slicing further and further until the tree was fully destroyed, being reduced to mere firewood. Afterward, he was panting slightly.

The rest of the day was a bit better than yesterday, Steven was feeling a bit better when he seemed to beat his personal best when it came to the river jump.

Eventually, he was back to the pushups with Jasper trying to stomp him to the ground. Again. This time, though, his body decided he finally had enough and he got a face full of dirt.

"Aw, what's the matter?" taunted the gem as she got off him, "Finally had enough?"

As he got up, he felt his muscles burning and his brain ready to shut off from the exhaustion. Deciding he had finally waited long enough before using it, Steven turned himself pink and proceeded to get right back up.

This shocked Jasper… but only for a split-second as she redoubled her efforts to pin Steven to the ground. Steven grunted at the increased force against him, but he simply redoubled his efforts himself. It ended only when Steven ended up pushing off the ground hard enough to have him stand all the way up while Jasper was catapulted backwards. She tumbled to the ground, surprised. Steven meanwhile, still pink, was actually surprised that he was able to overpower Jasper on his own! He slowly stood up and smirked.

"I'm still good," he answered, "Have you had enough?"

From that point on, the boy seemed to finally be getting the hang of his new form. Even when he changed back, his entire body felt rejuvenated and soon found his own rhythm. He would work on whatever task Jasper put him on as much as he could until he hit his breaking point. Only then would he turn pink and keep going until he finished. To his surprise, it took him longer and longer to need his new form and by the end of the week he could practically summon it at will. And while he did not say anything to her, he also noticed that Jasper was changing as well.

While she was still as aggressive and no-nonsense as ever, she was also leaving Steven on his own less and less and even seemed to be more chipper. Granted, she would still threaten to smash his face in if he pushes too many of her buttons, but somehow she seemed more grudging. And he could have sworn he even caught her smiling when he was not looking...

He was also getting better at catching food. There was a nearby stream where he practiced. It was hard at first, but eventually, he was able to catch fish easily. This time was no different, he simply waited for a fish to swim by. It was a fairly large trout lazily making its way towards him. Calmly, he stood in front of the stream and waited until he swept his arm down and brought the fish up in one clean motion. He brought his dinner over to his shelter which had also gotten a major overhaul since his start. The old leafy bed was gone in favor of a woven leaf hammock he placed in between two sturdy trees and using the natural shade of the trees to shield himself from rain. In case the weather got too severe, he also made a similar stone hut to Jasper's although much smaller and it was also where his fire pit was. He was actually pleased with the progress he was making so far, proud even. He genuinely believed that this was what he needed, some training to help clear his head. It seemed to be working as he was feeling confident, adventurous, and determined, just as he did when he was just starting out on his first few missions.

With that thought, though, his mind turned back to his family. He was surprised none of them ever tried to find him, but knew the lack of any phone calls from there being no reception in his patch of wilderness. He still remembered his outburst towards the Diamonds and while his rage was justified, he now knew that he had to control it. It was the exact thing that Jasper had been drilling into his head the whole time: power is what he makes of it.

* * *

The next day he woke up and stretched his body. Something felt different today… His clothes felt different and somehow his shelter felt more cramped than before. When he stood up to rinse his face in the lake, he found that his face looked like an adult! He looked down to find the rest of his body was further along as well with him being almost as tall as his father and faint signs of stubble on his face. Going further down, he saw that he was built more powerfully now too! Now more than ever, he felt reinvigorated like he could suddenly take on the world! He could only imagine how the other gems would react seeing him like this. He then noticed that his shirt didn't really go all the way down his more powerful torso anymore, revealing several inches of midriff. He wondered if he could make something more fitting with leaves when Jasper appeared in front of him.

"Is that normal?" she asked, perturbed by his growth spurt.

"Kind of? All humans grow up, but not this fast."

The gem just grunted as she walked off, Steven following behind as part of their routine. It was typical for her to fetch sometime around dawn and start him for the day with one of many fun activities such as dodging boulders, leaping from trees or hauling fallen trees for miles on his back uphill. As he walked, he was surprised to see she had not uprooted any of the grass he accidentally regrew from his outburst when he first arrived. After minutes of walking in silence, the pair arrived at an open plain amongst the trees and found several boulders stacked up and waiting for them.

"Stand over at that end," Jasper ordered as she walked to one end of the open space. Steven did as asked and soon the two stood at opposite sides. The gem then began making a line in the dirt and Steven began replicating her example.

"So… What are we doing?" he asked.

"Something different. I want you to get all the boulders from your pile over my line before I get all of mine past your line."

"Is this… some kind of game?"

"No! It's a training exercise! It's to test your reflexes as well as your strength."

Steven looked at the setup one more time, then nodded. Suddenly Jasper immediately ran and grabbed at one of the boulders, and immediately hefted it up. She then began to run over to Steven's end. "Wha-!?"

"Focus!" she said, "You won't get any warning in a real fight!"

As she ran forward hauling her boulder towards his end of the field, Steven decided to stop her by picking up one of his stones and chucking it at her like a football. She dodged it, but he was happy it landed right in front of her line. As she got closer, he tried a more direct approach and just stopped her with his bare hands. Much to their mutual surprise, almost as soon as Steven pushed back she could not run any farther.

While she was impressed, she was not about to let him get one up on her and chucked the rock so far in the air they lost sight of it before sucker punching him and grabbing another boulder and throwing it clean past his makeshift goal.

"Ha! Is that all you got?" boasted Jasper until Steven made a running kick into the boulder he nearly got over her end and slammed it past her line and into the trees.

"Nope!" he replied, smirking as he then ran back to grab another of his rocks. This was actually pretty fun, all things considered. Within seconds Steven was getting rock after rock into Jasper's line. While Jasper did not want to admit, she soon got into it as well and before long they lost track of time trying to finish their "training exercise" until they were tied up. Seven rocks were behind each line with several pieces of rubble littering the clearing. Many of the boulders ended up breaking apart as they worked, but Jasper was never one to care about collateral damage. It all ended when the boulder Jasper threw into orbit finally came crashing down smack in the middle of the field. Steven and Jasper both locked their eyes on it and ran full-sprint towards it for the tiebreaker. Their hands touched it at the same time, but Steven quickly thought ahead and pushed it back with all his strength. Jasper ended up being squashed by the rock as it rolled right past her line and knocking down several trees.

"I did it! I won!" he cheered, though his mood was soured by the fallen greenery. Rather than dwell on it, he took the initiative and tried tapping into his powers. After glowing pink again, willingly this time, he ran over to the newly-made stumps and touched his hands to one of them. In a matter of seconds, the tree began to regrow as if nothing happened. "Heh, there. All fixed." He said with some slight smugness to his voice. Jasper noticed and actually felt a hint of pride. Rather than wallow in his mistake, he chose to actively fix the problem. She also noticed he was actually staying pink for once whereas before he would have been terrified to even try. "Heh, so what do you think Jasper?" he asked her, "Pretty impressive, right?" He flexed an arm to himself.

She just scoffed at him. "Not bad, but what's the point?"

"It just feels right," he answered, "Plus now I know I can get firewood easier and not worry about damaging the place."

"Heh. Proud of it huh? You should. Just like I taught 'ya."

"Heh-heh, yeah," Steven then kissed his bicep.

Dejected, Jasper then said, "I didn't teach you that."

The two were about to move on to doing something else, but a shadow of something flying above them caught their attention as it passed over them. Soon, they were both face to face with a completely stunned Lapis Lazuli.

"What. The. Heck?!" she shouted, sounding almost panicked as she ran towards Steven and grabbed him in a hug.

"L-Lapis!? What are you doing out here?" Steven said, surprised by the hug.

"I've been looking all over the place for you! Pearl told me about that blowup with the Diamonds and how you ran off so I ran all over town for you! Then I went from all the nearby towns, then to Empire City, then the Galaxy Warp, and then I just started going everywhere until I found you!"

"Wait, what?" Steven said, a bit surprised. "I wasn't gone THAT long!… Was I?" He then shook his head and said, "Anyway I'm fine, see? In fact," he took up a proud stance, "I feel better than ever!" he finished it off with a cocky grin.

"He was here with me," said Jasper, who was eyeing Lapis with a negative expression on her face.

Lapis looked completely stunned before she marched up Jasper and pointed at her. "What did you do to him?"

"Train him. Like he asked me. What of it?"

"Yeah right! How do I know you didn't rope him into this?!"

"What?! You're accusing me of lying?"

"Well gee, considering you did kidnap him and tried to fly him off to Homeworld against his will it sounds like something you'd do!"

"That was just a job! And didn't you hold me hostage as Malachite under the ocean?!"

"Don't you dare bring that up! I did that so you wouldn't attack everyone like the psychopath you are!"

"Last I checked, you enjoyed being fused as much as I did! Maybe you need to get whipped into shape like Steven does so you aren't such a wimp!"

"Guys, SHUT UP!" Steven said, more forcefully than he normally would, "Whatever beef you had with each other in the past just DROP IT! Alright!?"

Lapis looked shocked; the Steven she knew normally wasn't this aggressive in tone. Or expression. While Jasper was surprised as well and did not appreciate anyone cutting her off, she was secretly impressed to see him still holding his own.

"Lapis, I came here because I wanted to," the boy explained, dropping his pink glow for a second, "Jasper may be rough around the edges, but that's what I needed. I know you and the other gems care about me, but right now I needed someone who would make me face my problems. Look, I can even turn this pink thing on and off whenever I want now!" He showed this by doing just that, activating his pink state.

When he noticed Jasper grinning, he turned his attention towards her. "But Jasper, that doesn't mean you're right to badmouth Lapis. She's just a friend who cares about me, just like you."

"Yeah right!" scoffed Lapis.

"I never said we were friends!" rebuffed Jasper, but Steven continued.

"Point being… You shouldn't blow up at her. And honestly, she was right about the whole Malachite thing. Right now, though, you two need to talk that out between yourselves because I don't have all the answers for that." He finished that statement with a frown as the two gems glared at each other.

Jasper merely huffed and turned her head away. Lapis, not taking her eyes off her, said, "Are you sure you're alright, Steven?"

"Actually, yeah. It might take some getting used to, but I think I'm finally getting the hang of these powers and my emotions." Steven said proudly.

"Well… Okay then. Do you mind if I tell the other Crystal Gems you're here?"

"Sure. And tell them I am doing a lot better. I'm sure Pearl wants to know."

With a last, very confused look, Lapis decided to fly back to the temple and wanted to ignore the pit in her stomach from Jasper's argument. Steven watched her leave until Jasper grabbed him by the arm and pulled him aside.

"Stop slacking, slowpoke! You've got a mountain to climb and now we're behind schedule! Move it!"

"Right!" Steven said, with a cocky tone and expression of determination. And with that, he began to focus back on his training...


	20. Chapter 20

Hello everyone. I hope you are all doing well with all that is going on in the world. And with that I hope you will find this chapter interesting. What with what just happened in the previous chapter. And as always enjoy and please leave a review.

**Chapter 20: Growing Pains**

Later on, after Steven encountered Lapis again, she was currently in the temple, telling the main Crystal Gemswhat happened with Jasper and Steven's change and such.

Needless to say, they were all surprised at this news, even Garnet. "Hm, at least Jasper's doing something constructive," she commented.

"You guys aren't all that worried?" asked a surprised Lapis, "You aren't gonna, you know, go down there and yank him back here?"

"Honestly… he seemed scary for a bit back there. Even to himself," Amethyst said, "And I gotta admit that Jasper seems like the last person to help out Steven - I mean, she IS the last person I'd expect - but Steven seemed to be sure, right?"

"Well… Yeah… But…"

"Lapis," said Garnet, "I get why you're nervous. After all you and Jasper have been through, it's only natural you'd see her like this. But you can't focus on the negative forever."

"Huh?"

"Like it or not, Jasper actually is doing a good thing. I doubt she would've helped Steven like this weeks ago and it seems to be having a positive effect on both of them."

"Are you sure of this Garnet?" Pearl asked in a hesitant tone, "I actually agree with Lapis Lazuli's concern for Steven. I mean, this is Jasper we're talking about."

"Right?!" said the aquatic gem, but Garnet cut her off.

"I know you've always protected him, Pearl, but you can't protect him from his own doubts. He was terrified when he accidentally injured you. You tried to reassure him, but he didn't listen because his own fear was overruling him. Now, it actually sounds like he's made some headway into learning his powers aren't something to be afraid of."

Pearl mulled it over a bit, wanting to find some reason to argue, but ultimately sighed. Sometimes she really wished Garnet was not so right all the time.

"Alright," she said, "But I still don't trust her…"

"Duly noted," Garnet said in a simple tone of voice, then smiled, "But maybe Steven can finally get through to her as he did with so many others."

The statement was not lost on Lapis who suddenly felt more uncomfortable. Pearl, however, realized she would have a lot of work to do. If Lapis' words were true, the boy would need some new clothes to fit his more adult body. While that did bring some pleasant memories of doing the same when Steven was younger, it made her feel saddened to think he was growing up so fast. "I just hope he doesn't try too hard…"

* * *

Meanwhile Steven was currently walking along the alternate route to the temple, enjoying the fresh air, a confident smirk on his face. He thought back to Jasper, grateful for his time training with her. He had to admit, it was actually… pretty fun. Definitely helpful too. He was actually looking forward to showing his progress to the others! Within seconds he was approaching the temple. He whistled at the site of it.

The temple's reconstruction into an actual house was a success. It was a three story building with the second floor being mostly just a balcony and the original beach house now just the first floor. Steven was now also looking forward to seeing what his new bedroom would look like!

He waltzed inside to see Bismuth apparently giving the room a final once-over as she held a set of blueprints. The boy was surprised to find the first floor looked almost exactly the same save for a full set of stairs leading up to his new bedroom instead of the simple loft. At first, Bismuth only glanced at him and went back to her surveying before she suddenly dropped the paper. She then looked right at Steven, completely stunned by what she saw.

"Hey Bismuth!" he greeted casually, "You busy?"

Bismuth seemed paused for a second. Then she spoke, "Whoa, Steven… is that… is that really you?"

"Heh, yup, it's me," Steven said with some pride in his voice. During his last few days of training with Jasper after encountering Lapis, his body bulked up even further. He looked pretty tough now! He was even taller than his father by a few several inches and the once-fitting shirt he wore was clearly several sizes too small, and as a result, tight on his big, broad muscles. His midriff, and gemstone, were fully exposed since his shirt wasn't long enough to reach. His hair had even grown far longer and reached down to his mid-neck. His arms were pretty big too, more like bazookas even, easily causing his sleeves to bunch up, tightly. Bismuth could hardly believe that the boy who had left now looked like a fully grown man.

"Whoa… you're… bigger," she stated awkwardly.

Steven merely smirked, "Yeah. I've been training a lot recently." He had this childlike sense of pride at the moment.

"Yeah. Pearl told me about it the other day," she said, a simple smile on her face, "Seems like training took to you really well!"

"I know right? It's awesome!" He then flexed his bazooka biceps. This was the last straw for his sleeves as they burst apart and off his arms.

"Well, good thing Connie isn't here!" Bismuth laughed as she headed off to let the other gems know their boy had finally come home. Steven blushed a little bit at the implication of what she just said.

After a few seconds, the three gems were there looking at Steven, each of them with something different in their minds.

"Well," thought Garnet, "Training is definitely going to be different…"

"Oh man," thought Amethyst, "I gotta bring him back into wrestling! He's bigger than most of the guys in the league! They're all gonna pee their pants when they see Tiger Millionaire now!"

Pearl's face was flat, but her thoughts were not. "MY LITTLE BOY'S ALL GROWN UP AND I MISSED IT!"

Bismuth, who was standing there with the others, then spoke up, "I know, that's quite a change, ain't it?"

"Well, yeah!" Amethyst said, "I mean look at you Steven! You're buff!"

Steven smirked at that compliment, suddenly less shy about being shirtless. The expression was not lost on Pearl.

"Um, Steven? Do you maybe want something to… cover up?" Pearl asked, "Y'know more than that shirt? It seems pretty small now…"

Steven still had the smirk on his face, "Pfft, so? Doesn't bother me one bit," he said proudly. When her response was to cross her arms and raise an eyebrow at him, he took the hint she was not happy. Catching onto this, he said, "Okay. Sorry…" he then had a more sincere grin on his face, "I'll see if I have something else to wear, promise. But first…" He looked around the new house, "You guys really did a great job on this place. It looks awesome!"

"It should," Bismuth said proudly, "This place was easy compared to what I used to build! Plus, wood's an easy material for me to use."

"We're glad you like it Steven," said Garnet.

"Is it true Jasper really trained you?" asked Amethyst.

"Yeah, and it was pretty tough."

"She didn't injure you, did she?!" yelped Pearl, her maternal instincts flaring up.

Steven however, simply said, "Relax Pearl. She didn't do anything… drastic to me. I promise." He opted NOT to tell her about all the times he was smacked with a big tree branch, and in some cases a WHOLE tree.

Pearl looked at Steven for a few brief seconds, then she said, "Right, sorry. It's just-"

"I know, trust me," Steven said.

"Anyway," Amethyst said, "Go on dude! Go and see your new room! It's on the third floor!"

Steven grinned, then immediately went up to see his new bedroom. He passed by the big balcony at the second room, noting that there were two staircases now. The one he went through, which cut through the balcony, and an indoor, spiral staircase. He then went further up this outer staircase and saw that it led to a quaint sight.

His original bed sat in the middle of the new room, but that was one of the last things he noticed. He paid more attention to the large glass door leading out to a private balcony that looked right at the glimmering blue ocean that made the whole room seem brighter. He also had an actual dresser to store his clothes along with a series of cubby holes in the wall behind his bed, which was painted a pleasant light pink, that held many of his toys and doodads he had collected over the years. This included a few of the food themed novelty collectibles he owned, including his cheeseburger backpack and hot dog duffel bag.

"Wow," Steven said, "This is pretty cool…" He began to look around when he saw his reflection in a contemporary style mirror stand. "Heh," he said, smirking, "Amethyst was right." He then flexed one of his cannon arms, "I am pretty big." He then flexed downward, causing his chest muscles to flare out, causing his shirt to rip all the way down the front. Steven looked shocked at this, then he giggled a bit at this. After some more gawking at himself, Steven decided to make good on his promise and find something to wear. As he dug through his new dresser to see if there was anything that would fit him. The only thing he found, though, was his old raincoat that the others picked up from his first growth spurt and that was only marginally bigger than his old clothes. It was already a tad snug before, but now it looked almost as ready to give as the shirt that was now lying in pieces on his new floor. Indeed, he couldn't even remotely button it up. Figuring it was better than nothing, he headed downstairs and found the others conversing before turning their attention to him.

"Not bad, huh?" said Bismuth, "I thought you might wanna do more decorating yourself later on."

"Yeah, it's pretty nice," said Steven, "That balcony looks great too!"

"That's nice to hear, Steven, but aren't you forgetting something else?" asked Pearl, now looking more annoyed at what seemed to be a lack of effort for Steven in terms of clothing.

"No," Steven said, gesturing to the open raincoat, "I'm sorry, but this is all I have at the moment. I'm gonna go and see if Dad has anything that might fit me."

Pearl looked at him for a second, then she said, "Hm… Sounds fair. Just remember to behave yourself, alright?"

Now it was Steven's turn to look annoyed, "Alright," he then smiled again saying, "I'll be back later."

He then stepped out the door and began to head over to It's A Wash. On the way over there his new form certainly gained a reaction from some of the other townsmen of Beach City. One of them gave Steven a surprised look, while another certainly looked shocked. Much to his embarrassment, he even noticed some women several years older than him giving him winks and waves from across the street and out of cars.

* * *

At the wash…

Greg was currently closing up shop. The car wash was pretty good and all, but helping out Sadie Killer and the Suspects was getting pretty fun. "Heh," he said to himself, "Maybe I can start being a music producer…" That seemed to be a good thought… However, he then had a more negative thought. What if he had to leave town to do it? Some of the biggest music companies were in places like Kansas or Empire City. He couldn't just up and move away… could he? Especially since he promised to himself to get more involved with Steven's antics… even if seeing all those Rose look-alikes freaked him out for a while… He shivered at that thought.

He was shaken out of it when a voice called out from down the street. "Hey Dad!"

"Steven?" he said, his back still to him, "You feeling okay? I think your voice sounds a little weird."

"Nah, I'm feeling fine. Better than ever, I'd say!"

Greg chuckled until he turned around and saw his son. Then he had to actually look up to meet his eyes. Steven was more than a head taller than him now! And that's not to say how much more buff he looked too!

"Ste… ven…?"

"Hey, Dad!" he said with a grin.

The father ran up after dropping the hose he was using to clean his van and looked half-ready to pass out.

"What's gotten into you?! Did the gems feed you some sort of growth serum or something?"

"Hahaha! Nah, this just kinda happened after a bit of training."

"Training in what, lifting weights?" asked Greg, "You looking to join the Olympics? I mean, that'd be pretty neat to see you with gold medals, but where'd that come from?"

While Steven thought that sounded cool as well, he was pretty sure he would have an unfair advantage over any competitor given that he was half-alien. "Yeah, I guess I am pretty big now!" he said proudly.

"Heh, big is an understatement here, Schtu-ball!" he then gestures to the relatively tiny raincoat, "I mean, that looks a bit too small for ya now!"

Steven gently tugs at the two ends, showing that the raincoat would not close up, "Yeah… I kinda came here to see if you had anything I could wear…"

"Heh, well…" Greg began to walk to the van, with Steven following, "I don't think I have anything big enough to match your exact side, but I think there might be something here that can at least hold!"

He went to the back of his van and rummaged through his clothes kept in a set of luggage for something that would fare better than an overstretched coat. He eventually found a black tank top that he once planned on wearing on stage before his life took a detour. When Steven put it on, he was grateful that it was a better fit. It was still tight on him, with a few inches of midriff showing, but at least it wouldn't tear off him anytime soon, "Thanks Dad."

"Any time sport!" Greg said, smiling, "Sorry I don't have anything bigger."

"This'll work for now. At least now maybe those girls might stop staring at me…" he said rubbing the back of his head.

"Girls? What… Oh, I get it!" said Greg before laughing a bit.

"Dad, it's not funny! Some of those girls were, you know… adults?" He whispered the last word into Greg's ear.

"Kid, I hate to break it to you, but they don't know that. Frankly, I can't believe it and I'm your old man!"

"But… It feels weird."

"Don't worry, kiddo. I get the feeling you're done growing for a while so you'll get used to it."

Steven blushed a little bit. "And who knows? Maybe you'll find some nice girl who likes your looks, but then get to know you for the great guy you are. "

Steven smiled at his father, "Thanks Dad."

* * *

Over the next few days, Steve began to settle into a more comfortable routine. On his first day back, he took the time to stop in with all of the other reformed Gems and let them know he was fine. While he was glad to see Nephrite (formerly known as Centipeetle but she and others decided to call her by her proper name) and Biggs again, they were also focused on making headway on the construction project under Bismuth. Both of them became something of the blacksmith's underlings and became supervisors to keep all the other masses in check.

Once he went to bed that night, he slept like a log after days of roughing it in the forest and woke up to see a gorgeous sunrise from his new balcony. He stretched, then prepared for the rest of the day. He actually decided first to take a quick run outside figuring there was no reason not to train to maintain his new look. While there would be significantly less boulder tossing and uprooting trees, he could still exercise and could even ask the other Crystal Gems to help.

As he ran through town, he noticed several familiar faces as the sleepy town opened up for the morning. The shops on the boardwalk were unlocking their doors and taking in the first customers, cars watched him jog by as people headed to work or tourists came in from the highway and he even spotted Sadie heading off with a clothing bag over her shoulder, possibly with the getup she planned to don next as Sadie Killer.

He only stopped when he came by a bakery already swarming with customers at the early hour. The line went out the door and when Steven looked in, he saw a display shelf filled with delectable desserts and pastries, all with an outer space theme, and all being manned by a very familiar teenager. Once Steven actually managed to get in the building, he got the attention of the young man behind the counter.

"Hey Lars!" he greeted cheerfully.

"Steven?!" gaped the former pirate.

"Heh, yup it's me!" he said proudly.

"Jeez, what did you eat!?" Lars was pretty much shocked at this point. He has seen plenty of stuff while stranded in outer space, but this one takes the cake!

"Heh, nothing out of the ordinary," Steven said, he then placed a hand on his bicep, "I've been doing some extra training to help clear out my head and my gem and body just reacted naturally, I guess." He ended it with a toothy grin.

"I see…" Lars said, "Well, whatever works for you. I'd say it's strange, but my life took a super weird turn and here I am!"

"It's great to see this place doing so well! Where'd the space theme come from?"

"It just seemed right. I wanted something a bit more unique then what I thought up at first."

"Heh, it seems right to me too," Steven said admitfully; he has an idea, given what Lars had seen as a space pirate. He noticed the sign reading "Spacetries" in neon-green letters on the shop window and how every item on the menu was given an astronomical pun.

"Lars!" Lars and Steve both turned and saw Rhodonite rushing towards them, wearing an apron, "We're out of the Chocolate Asteroid Cakes!"

"Rhodonite?!" said Steven, feeling it was finally his turn to be surprised, "What are you doing here?!"

"Um, can I help you?" the fusion asked before Lars pulled her aside and whispered something in her ear that made her flummoxed all over again, "Steven?! I-I'm sorry, I didn't recognize you for a second there."

"Heheh, it's fine," Steven said nonchalantly, "I'm getting used to that right now." He had this childish grin on his face as he finished saying that.

Then suddenly a large crowd of people began to slowly walk into the bakery. "Whoa! Sorry Steven," Lars exclaimed, "Looks like the rush began! I have work to do."

"Don't worry, Lars. Go get 'em!" Steven replied with a smirk. He then bid Lars farewell and stepped out of the bakery. He eventually made his way to another familiar location: Jamie's School of Theater Showmanship.

* * *

Unlike many other buildings, this one appeared to still be closed but the young hybrid did see Jamie himself step outside. Jamie was currently reading a small stack of papers in his hands, most likely a script. Taking this opportunity, Steven confidently walked up to the aspiring thespian and said, "Hey Jamie! What's up!"

"Suffering soliloquies!" he exclaimed upon seeing the large figure, "Steven? I didn't think you'd take fitness so seriously, but it suits you well!"

"Thanks!" he boasted, now appreciating the lack of sleeves his shirt had, "You know, if you need another commercial, I could help you out in front of the camera now."

"Ooh, temptation… And considering how your first effort really launched my school to such notoriety, a follow-up might be in order."

Soon the two got to chatting while Jamie prepared the school for the day. Steven was quickly impressed by how diverse the school was with the thespian turned teacher offering classes ranging from comedy to drama and apparently had plans to incorporate the more technical aspects of theater in the future as he found a bulletin board in the young man's office filled with contacts relating to singing lessons, choreography, set design and more.

"Wow," Steven said, "Looks like you have a lot planned out, Jamie."

"Indeed! While I have a soft spot for my humble operation, I hope to open a full-blown academy one day that inspires thousands of performers from all across the world to follow any passion in the theatrical arts! But first comes the paperwork…" Jamie's posture and tone deflated at that last bit, but soon he was as grand as ever.

"And my dream wouldn't be possible without you, Steven! If you or any of your gem family are interested, the school is open for your enrollment at any time!"

"That's pretty nice, Jamie! I'll let the others know!"

* * *

The rest of the day passed without much incident once Steven returned from his run. The other Crystal Gems redoubled their efforts to finish the new development for the others and soon the boy contributed his efforts to assisting as well. He was hampered, however, by Peridot trying to pull him aside all day and try to run experiments on him due to his new growth. It took Lapis intervening to stop the scientist from running tests on him in his sleep.

However, just before he could enter his home, he suddenly received a text from Ronaldo. It seemed pretty urgent with Ronaldo demanding that Steven head over to his location as soon as possible.

Steve chose to head over to the lighthouse to see what his friend found. He knocked on the front door, only to immediately hear Ronaldo's typical response, "Go away! I'm not letting you put microchips on my lawn!"

"Ronaldo, it's me!" Steven said. Soon, after what sounded like multiple different locks were undone, the blond blogger opened the door to find the much older-looking Steven on the other side.

Immediately Ronaldo began to freak out, "Ack! What the-!?"

"Ronaldo I know how it looks but it's me! Steven Universe!" the hybrid immediately said.

Before his friend could start rambling about what conspiracy could be responsible for this, Steven gave a summary of his training trip and this was just a byproduct of him growing up. After he was finished, Ronaldo began to examine Steven, "Interesting… It seems that your gem must have made your body adapt to all that training."

"I guess so, but Peri's been obsessed with finding out. Says it's her 'scientific duty' or something."

Ronaldo was about to inquire more, but brought himself back on to what he brought Steven here for. "I ended up finding something else in orbit."

"Wait, what?"

A quick look through some images from the telescope he had monitoring the sky showed multiple pictures of some odd red metallic cube with what appeared to be a camera lens aimed straight down at the planet.

"I can't tell for certain, but it appears to be some sort of surveillance device," explained Ronaldo, "But I haven't been able to pick up any sort of signal for its signal. It looks too small to be a fully contained spaceship, so it has to be transmitting somewhere."

"Oh great…" moaned Steven, "Guess she didn't take anything from the Human Zoo or Wulfenite as a hint."

"Same creep who tried kidnapping you?"

"Yep… I've gotta tell the others!"

"You mean, like, those other Diamonds?"

That thought made Steven squirm inside. He knew he would have to talk to them again eventually, but suddenly felt a pit in his stomach. "M-Maybe… I'll talk to the Crystal Gems first."

* * *

Meanwhile, up in space…

Red Diamond was currently analyzing some images she saw of Steven in his training session with Jasper and how his body changed much faster than the bog-standard human as a result. "Curious," she said, "His development at this rate is astronomical compared to what I've observed. He's hit what most humans consider their physical prime…" She then looked at a few other monitors next to the main screen, "Above physical prime even…"

"Any plans with this new development, My Diamond?" asked her faithful Pearl, standing by her side to leave at a moment's notice.

"At this point, no. For now, I'm more intrigued to see how his body reacts further. If he has attained a better control of his powers, he'll be all the harder to apprehend. But…"

"But what…?"

"It will also be an even better test of my forces." She stood up and headed out of the observation room to her favorite part of her ship: the laboratory.

"I've spent all my free time finding ways to make Gems stronger, free from the constraints my idiotic compatriots have instilled in them. And thanks to the little blow-up Steven had with the other Diamonds, they've stalled their efforts to stop my capturing more Homeworld forces. Seeing that boy grow as such has me all the hungrier to find even better improvements! I haven't been this excited in centuries… Pearl, send in some subjects. I wish to get to work immediately!"

"As you wish, My Diamond!" the Pearl responded, then immediately headed out the door towards the holding cells. She was already thinking of a few particularly rowdy gems who could stand being spliced and augmented. It also gave her an idea she would have to bring up to her Diamond later: What if they experimented on something other than gems?

* * *

Back at the temple, Steven had filled in all of the core Crystal Gems about Ronaldo's recent discovery. Now his original three caretakers plus Peridot, Lapis Lazuli, and Bismuth each shared similar looks of worry and concern.

"So they've been spying on us this whole time!?" Peridot said, shocked, "I told you letting me hack a satellite was a good idea!"

"We don't need national governments to get on our case," rebuffed Garnet, "But we do need to do something about this while we have an element of surprise."

"Yeah!" agreed Amethyst, "We can just get Lars' spaceship and get him and the others to fly up there and blow it up!"

"Maybe…" considered Pearl, "But not right away. It'll be a dead giveaway we're onto her plans and she'll just set up something even harder to get rid of as a replacement. We need stealth here…"

"Well, all I know is if that clod of a Diamond sends any more freakshows after us," said Bismuth, "I'll be the first to send them packing! Heck, I'll hit one so hard it'll smash that drone right out of the sky!"

"I'd love to see that," said Garnet, "But we need a more concrete plan…"

Steven watched the six collaborate while mostly remaining quiet. He could see the flaws with a head-on assault, but it was sorely tempting to just throw pretense to the wind and blow the doors open. Unfortunately his brain did not grow super strong with the rest of him, so he was not sure how to proceed. If only they had someone else to get an opinion from… And then an idea came.

"Guys!" he exclaimed, "I'm gonna go talk to someone real quick and bring her here! I'll be right back!"

They all looked at him as he left the temple in a literal flash of pink…

* * *

Steven knew that they would need backup, so he went to a place where just the Gem they need might be…

Jasper's hideout.

While the hike there took several hours before, now he could make the round trip in just a few minutes. Upon arriving, Steven saw Jasper training in front of her little cave-hut, as usual. She had this positive look of determination on her face though, something that he didn't see the first time he ever came here…

"Well well well," she said, "Back for that rematch already?"

"Eh, maybe later. Right now, I need you to come to the temple!"

That soured Jasper's mood instantly. "Forget it. Training you is one thing, but unless those whelps change their attitude I'm not gonna-"

"I don't mean training! A friend of mine found out that Red Diamond's got some kind of spy satellite watching us and we need some way to get rid of it."

"Yeah? I may be awesome, but I can't punch something like that."

"But you can figure out a way to get rid of it! You keep saying how all you're good at is fighting and that means plans, right?"

The orange brawler was briefly surprised before she started thinking. While she may not have been a strategic genius like the brainiac commanders on Homeworld, she did know that combat was more than just punching, although that was her favorite part.

"Well… If she's watching you, and if she doesn't know it, I know I'd take advantage of it. Fake her out or something like that…"

"Yeah… Yeah, that makes perfect sense! Come on, let's go to the temple and you can tell the others!"

"Whoa, hold it! Why can't you just tell them that?"

The boy thought for a moment. She had a point that with how fast he could run that he could just be a messenger, but there was more to it than thought.

"Jasper… You hate Red Diamond, right?"

"Yeah, so what?"

"Well so do the other Crystal Gems. I get you don't want to be best friends with them, but it would help if cooperated. We all want the same thing here!"

As much as Jasper hated to admit it, the kid had her pegged. She could only barely stand being around the Crystal Gems, but the thought of Red Diamond corrupting other gems to be her personal science projects made her incensed.

"Fine… But you owe me something."

"What's that?"

She smirked and then began to rush at him…!

Alarmed at this, Steven jumped to the side and out of the way. She then looked at him after a second of silence, "Come at me…"

"What?! But-"

"You promised me a spar, right?! Well now it's happening! Do this and I'll go along to your home or whatever…"

"O-Okay then…" Steven then summoned his shield for the first time since his change and while thankfully it had grown to match his new size, his sword did not. It felt entirely wrong in his hand so he discarded it, guessing that Bismuth could alter it or make a new one for later. Instead he focused on her bombarding him with punches. Even now, her blows stung and it took him summoning a bubble around himself to stave her off. Jasper soon backed up into a running start to ram into him, but he surprised her by dropping his defense at the last minute, grabbing hold of both her arms and leaping hundreds of feet into the air before throwing her back down to Earth…

At least, that was his plan. Right when he let go of his throw, Jasper managed to hook onto one of his legs and flung him ahead of her. He hit the ground with a quaking thud and just barely managed to get out of the way before she landed right where he was laying.

"Are you nuts?!" he yelled, "That hit would've seriously hurt!"

"Aren't you the one with healing powers?" she replied while running at him again, now summoning her crash helmet only the design is now a bit different. Steven would have appreciated the detail if she did not come two feet from smashing it into his face. Deciding that he needed to fight head on, he raised an arm to block and then quickly kicked Jasper away. His arm ached from the blow, but a small part of him felt better from that.

Further helping his mood was the genuine smile Jasper had on her face for a brief second. "Yes! Fight back, don't spend all your time running! You want to take down Red Diamond? That means you gotta fight her at some point!"

Steven gritted his teeth at this remark. His body glowed pink. "Alright, fine. You want me to fight back…?"

With a sudden yell, he ran forward almost faster than Jasper could process and started letting off a barrage of physical blows with Jasper trying to block or dodge as many of them as she could. Then he was able to land a physical blow against Jasper, disorienting her for a second. But that was all he needed as he then landed another heavy blow, his fist knocking her back plenty of meters away!

He thought for a second it was over, but Jasper came charging back at him hard enough to send him flying even farther. Steven was surprised, but still wasted no time in recovering from that blow. Jasper then proceeded to dash at him, spinning into a ball, like all Jaspers and Amethysts could do. An alert Steven immediately leaped over her and landed several feet past where he was just standing while she bowled over more trees.

Jasper stood up and soon realized Steven was nowhere to be seen until she looked directly up where he was floating and outright taunting her to come and get him. She obliged and while she could not outright fly, she had more than enough experience floating that the two took their battle to the air.

For a brief moment the two seemed to be exchanging punches and kicks, then suddenly Steven was able to get a hold of her arm and, before she realized what was happening, flung her back to the ground. Instead of straight down this time, he pushed at an angle so that she ended making a thirty-foot long trench with her body.

For a brief moment, Steven wondered if he went too far only to see Jasper get up and laugh off any pain she might have felt. Confident that he was still in control, he plunged down to meet her and the two renewed their spar until their heads clashed. The two were finally deadlocked as they pushed against each other, eventually locking hands and pushing against each other to gain the slightest advantage.

"Ngh… not bad… runt," grunted Jasper during this stalemate.

This seemed to spark something in Steven. "I'm… not a runt… anymore…!" Then slowly, he was actually overpowering Jasper's push! Little by little his hands inched forward until he threw all his weight to the side and sent Jasper flying several yards. As she rolled end over end, Steven was already on top of her, literally flying over her, as he sent one final punch into her gut mid-roll that caused her to suddenly be buried almost a hundred feet into the ground with the crater stretching several feet wide. Steven panted from the exertion, but he felt fantastic. Fighting may not have been his first option, but it felt oddly good to prove himself! After a few seconds, though, he wondered why Jasper had not emerged from the new hole.

"Huh. Jasper?"

He headed over to the middle of the crater and saw something that shocked him. Jasper's gemstone was just lying there on the ground. "Whoa…" he said, "I… I actually poofed her…" He suddenly felt the excitement and joy come back, he had never been able to actually poof her before, "Wow. I… I actually did it! I was able to beat Jasper! Hahah!" He then proudly picked the gem up, gladly noting that it was still fully intact. One quick gob of healing spit later and it was glowing as Jasper's body reformed. Upon landing on the ground, she slowly got up and looked around for a second, disoriented. She then realized, "I… I lost…" Steven gave her a rather arrogant smirk. But suddenly, she slowly burst into laughter. "I can't believe it! You actually beat me!" she said in between guffaws, "What happened to the wimp who couldn't even throw a punch?!"

"Your training, that's what! But you know what this means, right?" Steven replied as his gem glow ceased.

"I'll have to train twice as hard to beat you?"

"Well, maybe, but now we head to the temple!"

Jasper's good mood faded in an instant. As much as she wanted to back out, even she could not lie. That was one of the first genuine bits of fun she had since arriving on Earth.

"Fine…" she grumbled, "But this better be quick!"

And with that, the two headed for the Temple...


	21. Chapter 21

Hey everyone! I wanna say... YAY! A new chapter already! Milo F Waters and I are on a ROLL!  
First replies to reviews.

kevinbellmore: Uh... thanks again? OMAC001: Maybe, maybe not... you'll have to read further and find out. It'll be slower than in the show though, I'll tell you that.

Chapter 21: Blue and Orange Morality

"Alright," Peridot said as she, Bismuth, Lapis, Pearl, Amethyst, Garnet, Jasper, and Steven were sitting in the middle of Garnet's burning room in the Temple, safe from the prying eyes of Red Diamond's surveillance vessel. Peridot herself was next to a blackboard, chalk in hand, "We have to proceed carefully in order to best take advantage of this intelligence. We know that Red Diamond is unpredictable, so it's possible we shouldn't rule out that there could be multiple espionage devices in orbit."

She drew a circle around a photograph of the satellite in question that Steven got from Ronaldo. "Thanks to Steven's friend, we at least have a firm grasp of where this device is and I can easily locate its relative position using the GPS on my tablet."

"And?" asked Jasper, "Get to the point, where is it?!"

"In short, it's currently observing Beach City and the surrounding area. If I had to guess at this point, a radius of a few hundred miles judging from its distance from the ground and from my knowledge of similar equipment Homeworld uses." She then scribbled a map-like illustration on the blackboard before continuing, "Thus, the location of this device is somewhere…. Here!"

"Okay, that's great," said Lapis, "But how do we get rid of it?"

"Well see, that's not the only point. This device, if it is truly based on the similar monitoring equipment as I theorize, is not made for long-distance space travel."

"And if that's the case," thought Pearl, "Then there must be a sort of station or outpost that's dispatching it."

"Exactly, and that's where a certain proposal has come in. Rather than dispose of the device and make Red Diamond more suspicious, we lull her into a false sense of security so that we can eliminate this station and produce a real setback for her."

"You mean a trap?" asked Bismuth. When Peridot nodded, she felt a bit wary, "And how do we do that?"

"That's what we need to figure out," said Garnet, "So far, Red Diamond has had us outnumbered and on edge. We have to be careful or else she'll see through everything and I doubt even with all the Crystal Gems we could win a full-scale battle with all her forces."

"Um, didn't we kick major butt at the Human Zoo?" said Amethyst, "There was dozens of them there and we sent most of them packing!"

"Thanks to Blue Diamond and, again, better strategy. True, we might have fusions to turn the table, but who's to say Red Diamond wouldn't have something to counter that."

Lapis nodded to that statement. Then Bismuth spoke up, "Okay, so… what if we do some kind of sneak attack on the base right? Get on board and sabotage the systems there?"

"Again, that's a possibility, but we'd need something to keep her distracted," said Peridot, "If she's watching the whole town, she'd probably notice you launching a forward attack. Assuming you plan on using the ship that human Lars commandeered from Homeworld as a fugitive, Red Diamond is going to notice you taking off."

"So that's where the distraction comes in," said Jasper, much to the displeasure of Peridot being interrupted.

"Yes, I was getting to that… And fortunately, we have an ideal setup for one."

"And that is?" asked Pearl.

"Me," said Steven, finally speaking up, "I'll be live bait while you guys go in and shut the place down."

Everyone immediately, everyone's eyes widened in shock with the exception of Jasper who was rather surprised at Steven's sudden statement.

Lapis was the first to speak, "WHAT!?"

Pearl was next, "Absolutely not!" And the others all followed.

"That's preposterous!"

"Dude, no way! That's nuts!"

"I thought you didn't wanna be her lab rat!"

"Steven," finished Garnet, "Think about what you're saying. You'd be putting yourself in immense danger for this."

"Yeah, I get that," said the boy, "But that's what I've been doing for a long time now! I'm not the same little kid who ran away from monsters."

"As impressive as the results of your training seem," said Pearl, "I'm wholly uncomfortable with you throwing yourself to the lions like that. Besides, even if we all agreed to this, what sort of spectacle could you make to get Red's attention."

Steven, having already thought of an idea, pointed up to one of the many bubbles containing gems floating above them. When they followed his finger, they all saw a black gem.

"Onyx?!"

"Why not?" asked Steven, "I 'accidentally' let her out, she tries to attack me, I fight her off and let Red watch like it's a game while the rest of you go off to mess around with her equipment."

Everyone looked either shocked or impressed by his idea. "Steven," Pearl said, "That's… that's pretty risky…"

"Yeah and you could seriously get mangled by that thing!" Amethyst added, remembering what she was told about Onyx.

"Oh, would you all get over it?!" shouted Jasper, "The runt's actually got a good idea and you're all just gonna ignore it because you don't want him hurt?! What happened to being rebels and all that junk?"

"As hard as this may be for you to grasp," said Garnet as she stood up and walked towards the horned gem, "We are not just Steven's teammates, but his family. It's been our job for almost 15 years now to keep him safe. If he were to ever get hurt…"

"Yeah, yeah, you'd all want to save him, yippee… But you all need to get it through your heads he's not some pebble like he was before."

"Thanks... " said Steven in a rare moment of sarcasm, "But she's right! I can fight off Onyx long enough to let you all do your job!"

Garnet looked deep in thought. Bismuth looked at Steven for a second, eyeing his form. She then said, "Maybe you should at least take someone with you. Just in case."

Steven frowned at this, but then decided mentally to agree with this to ease their worry, "Alright… Jasper can go with me."

"NO!" shouted Lapis, "I can't believe you're all even considering this! Now you're gonna put Steven in danger and trust Jasper to protect him?! Have you all forgotten she tried to kidnap him AND was the one who made Malachite go berserk on him and most of you?!"

"Yeah, sure, throw all that on me," scoffed Jasper, "I'm violent. I know that and I like it. At least I don't cry and run away from all my problems!"

The other gems all looked uncomfortable at that, and it only got worse as Lapis got up from her spot and marched over to Jasper. "You know, I've got a better idea. Maybe I just throw you into that satellite! Your head's thick enough for it!"

"Guys, maybe we should calm down?" Steven tried to interrupt, but Jasper wasn't having it.

"Oh yeah? How about you, the gem who can control the entire ocean, could try contributing something instead of your whining!"

"Jasper, settle down," said Pearl, "This is getting off-topic!"

"It's not about power, you clod!" screamed Lapis, "We need to actually be smart and think about this! Maybe if you thought some more, you wouldn't have fused with a corrupted gem and turned into a freak!"

This struck a nerve in Jasper who then turned to Lapis with a look of spite on her face, "Listen here, you pathetic-"

Her potential remark was cut short as a pink, honeycomb-like wall appeared between the two. Steven looked at the two with an angry face, "GUYS! I know you have some issues to work out, but that's NO excuse to just explode into an all out brawl. And now is DEFINITELY not the time nor the place. GOT IT!?" He glowed pink for a few seconds, but only a few seconds, causing the two gems to deflate before him, Lapis more so than Jasper.

"Jasper, it might be for the best that you leave," said Garnet. The former Homeworld soldier wanted to storm out of the room, but the fusion stopped her.

"But thank you. Your idea was a good one." That seemed to lower the tension a bit as Jasper walked out instead. Lapis, however, still looked angry.

"Seriously?! Garnet, you can't be doing this! You're gonna listen to her? She-"

"-Has done regrettable things, yes. Lapis, we all get your problem with her, but letting it interfere with a vital mission like this is not acceptable. I think you should leave as well."

Now Lapis looked ready to explode. Before she could, though, she simply turned around and looked at Steven.

"What's gotten into you?! Why do you want to be friends with her?! She's a terrible person! Why… don't you just give up on her?" She said that last question in a much lower tone. Steven thought a moment before responding.

"Lapis, I don't give up because I want Jasper to be better. Isn't that enough for you?"

"No, but-!"

"And I didn't give up on you, did I?"

Lapis froze upon that statement. She knew immediately that he was right. Steven let her out of the mirror. He refused to fight her, he healed her so she can make it back to homeworld. He was there to comfort her when she tried to run away. Then it was the thought of HIM that encouraged her to go back and essentially join the Crystal Gems. She stammered for a bit before her eyes welled up with tears and she bolted out of the room as well. Steven was saddened to see her go, but he knew like the others this had to stop. He then let out a large yawn.

"You okay, dude?" asked Amethyst.

"Yeah, just really tired all of the sudden. Maybe that sparring took a lot out of me…"

"It's alright, Steven," said Pearl, "We'll finish up here and let you know when you get up. Plus, it is past your bedtime…"

The teen just chuckled as he headed out of the room and upstairs while the five remaining Crystal Gems continued. Peridot in particular was jumping at the bit to get back to her chalkboard…

As the night dragged on and Steven snoozed away in his bed, the other five felt they had a solid foundation for a plan. While they still had some finer details to work out, they now felt more confident in the whole diversion plan. The bigger risk was now going to be defusing the bomb that Lapis Lazuli had become. All of them wanted to talk to her, but Pearl and Garnet felt like they would have the best chances at sorting the issue out. Amethyst outright admitted she was not the best with heart-to-hearts and Peri and Bismuth both agreed their time was better spent working. The former wanted to refine her plan while the latter went to work resizing Steven's sword so that it fit his larger body.

Lapis was currently on the hand of the temple that still served as the house's laundry room, gazing out over the ocean. While the sea was once a calming sight, she had never viewed it the same since a certain incident happened. She wanted to fly away somewhere else, but what would that accomplish? As much as it pained her, Jasper had a point that her default solution was running away. She looked up at the stars and half-moon above her and almost wondered if Red Diamond was laughing at her.

"Are you alright?" Lapis turned around in shock to see Pearl standing near her and Garnet right behind her.

"What do you think?" she replied sardonically.

"I think you need to curb this attitude before it gets worse," said Garnet, "And we want to help you do it."

"...I'm fine." Lapis said cynically, "She's the problem."

"Listen, I don't disagree that Jasper is something of a problem child, but you're not exactly innocent either."

The flying gem was about to rebut, but she could not muster up anything. She just slumped in her seat. "I… I don't get it. How can he just let these things go?"

Garnet moved next to her and sat to Lapis' right as she spoke. "Because Steven's an optimist. It's turned against him a few times, but he always wants to see the bright side. I bet even now, he'd rather talk things out with Red Diamond than fight her."

A slight smile graced her lips, knowing Garnet had a point. Pearl sat down to her other side and continued her point.

"Did you know that Bismuth was on bad terms with Steven too? She… got a little overzealous about being a Crystal Gem and that made them fight."

"Really?" asked Lapis, "Bismuth seems pretty loud, but she doesn't strike me as that crazy."

"Then you didn't see her in the old days," informed Garnet, "She once made a weapon called the Breaking Point, designed to instantly shatter any gemstone it hit."

"Yeesh…"

"Rose hated the idea so much she was forced to bubble Bismuth when she refused to back down. Now we know she had… ulterior motives, but her point still stands. Bismuth was taking her grudge with Homeworld too far."

The two gems noticed Pearl tense slightly at that. "Something on your mind?" asked Lapis.

"It's just… There was a time where I felt the same way. I was a bit fanatical about Rose and sometimes I thought… Why not just take it to that level?"

"Pearl…" said Garnet, a tad unnerved by her comrade's words.

"It's nothing… Lapis, just know that I've done some regrettable things too. And I've also done my best to fix things."

"I guess…" muttered the blue gem, but something still felt wrong. That was when Garnet spoke up.

"I think one of your problems is you just keep holding in how you feel. Then when you blow up, you're so angry that all you can do is blame Jasper."

"So? You say that like it's a bad thing…"

"It is bad, Lapis. Holding onto this grudge won't help anyone in the end. Try actually talking about it."

Lapis half-considered flying away, but the other half knew it would not solve anything. As much as she did not want to, Garnet was right and she needed to confront this head-on.

"When I was Malachite… It was awful. Me and Jasper just kept yelling and arguing nonstop. All I kept telling myself was that I didn't want her to hurt anyone. If I unfused, she'd just hunt you all down."

"We understand that," said Pearl, "And that takes a lot of strength. Lapis, you're much stronger than you realize."

Rather than be touched, the gem just laughed bitterly. "Strong? I don't feel like it. I gave in…"

"Anyone would get worn down by that situation-"

"Because I wanted to."

Garnet and Pearl both stared at her for a moment. She stood up and walked away as she spoke with her back to them.

"As Malachite, I did feel powerful. I felt powerful enough to finally get back at Homeworld… And you. I… did like that feeling. Not being anyone's prisoner. And one day, I just let it all go. I screamed and yelled for I don't know how long. And for a second, I looked at Jasper. She was… afraid of me."

Lapis turned to face them both. "I liked making her afraid of me… I finally felt like I accomplished something. What… What's wrong with me? Do… Do I still miss that? I…"

"Lapis…" Pearl said, gently placing her hand on the distraught Gem's shoulder, "It's okay…"

"No, it's not okay! I'm pretty sure that wanting to hurt someone is a bad thing! I enjoyed hurting Jasper and wanted to hurt everyone else! It makes me just like her and I HATE IT!"

"And you were able to overcome that," Garnet said, "Steven told us about the fishing trip Jasper crashed."

"You stood up to Jasper once," assured Pearl, "She handed you that opportunity again and you didn't take it."

"And then during my wedding, you showed up when we needed you the most. Blue Diamond would have beaten all of us if it weren't for you."

"And it didn't stop there! Then you flew straight to Homeworld with the others to help us when the whole situation with White Diamond went out of control!"

"G-guys…" Lapis sobbed, "I… that may be true but-"

"As hard as it may be to believe, you've grown a lot and Jasper's doing the same thing. She may never admit it, but you know that she wouldn't have helped Steven before."

"Give her time," said Garnet, "I'm not asking you to forget everything. But you do need to accept that it happened and that you're not the same either."

"Thanks," said Lapis. In a rare move, she actually hugged the both of them as she revealed her wings. "I think I feel better. Jasper, though, she's still someone I'd keep an eye on."

"We know," said Pearl, "And believe me, if she does step out of line we'll all make her regret it."

* * *

Meanwhile, near the shores of the beach, Bismuth was currently stepping out of the house with some spare materials to take with her to the forge. The trek would have taken slightly longer due to the fact that the Warp Pad for the temple was being tweaked to allow a second one to be built, when she saw Jasper nearby. The brawler was clearly steaming from her latest spat with Lapis and was taking out her aggression on some rocks, pulverizing them with her fists.

"Hey now!" said Bismuth half-kiddingly, "What did those rocks ever do to you?"

Jasper did not appreciate the joke and broke one of the stones in half. "Beat it."

"Technically, this is our house, so I've got every right to tell you not to break our stuff."

Jasper simply gave her a look, then turned around and said, "Whatever…" She then picked up one of the larger rocks, "I'll just take these back with me."

Bismuth took a look at her and sighed. "Look, I get it, you're not exactly a friend but I don't want you sulking all by yourself."

"You got a better idea?"

Bismuth grinned and started walking away. "Come with me and find out."

The two headed to the newer warp pad added outdoors and soon both were teleported to a volcanic chamber that made Jasper legitimately curious. Bismuth simply stood in front of a wall and pressed her hand to it before a black square opening appeared and revealed her forge.

Jasper looked around, her rough expression unchanging, even as Bismuth activated the lava flow and let herself be soaked by the molten liquid. She then stepped up feeling completely refreshed; she always did like a good lava dip.

"What are you doing?" Jasper asked, "Besides wasting my time."

"My second-favorite way to relax! Try it some time, you might actually crack a smile."

While Jasper just scoffed, Bismuth set down all her materials, meaning different types of ore, next to one of the lava pools and got to work.

"That's it? You make weapons?" asked the ex-Homeworld soldier.

"Yep! Nothing better to unwind after a long day than to just lose yourself in this."

As Bismuth settled into a familiar rhythm, she continued to work while still talking. "I can't tell you how many times I looked forward to this in the old days. Days of nonstop fighting, but once I got in here none of that mattered. I just hunkered down and got to work making new weapons for the Crystal Gems."

As she hammered out the superheated ore into a round shape, her mind drifted to some of the not so pleasant old days. "I mean… It wasn't easy. All that time on battlefields, watching my friends risk their lives, trying to patch up their weapons on the fly so they can all go out and throw themselves at enemies over and over again…"

"That's just how war is," said Jasper, "Is there a point to all this?"

"Yes! It might sound weird… But I was in the same boat as you once. I spent every day fighting and frankly, I loved it. Every moment I wasn't working in this forge, I was duking it out with Homeworld's forces."

"So you were a soldier," Jasper said.

"Yeah, and it was hard on all of us who were fighting… And then I made the dumbest decision of my life."

She took the piece she was working on and blew out the flames surrounding it to reveal a sword very similar to Steven's old blade but much larger. Satisfied with her work, she set it down as she reminisced further.

"One day, I thought of trying to make a completely new weapon. I holed myself up in here for weeks designing it, constructing it, even testing it. I thought I finally had a way to truly stop all this fighting! I hoped that Rose would take it and finally blow that Pink Diamond back to Homeworld where she belonged!"

"But they're the same gem…" Jasper said, still uncomfortable with the idea of it.

"Yeah, to say she didn't take it well is like saying you're a little bit of a jerk."

"Do you want me to punch you?"

"NO! I want you to know that you're not the only one who's gone overboard!"

Jasper stared at her for a minute before asking, "'Overboard?' With what?"

"You're kidding, right?" Bismuth said, genuinely confused, "No one told you?"

Jasper had a confused look on her face that said all Bismuth needed to know. Bismuth then sighed, "Well I suppose I'll just tell you…"

And with that the blacksmith launched into a full explanation of how she built the Breaking Point and how Rose did NOT like the idea of using it. Then she went to how she was poofed by Rose, only to be freed by Steven. She messed that up in an angry rage though and chose to let him poof her… only to be set free again and be informed of Rose's true identity.

After a long pause, Jasper finally reacted… "Wait… So the idea to fake her own shattering… Pink Diamond got that from YOU!?"

"What?! I don't know, maybe!" Bismuth tried to explain but Jasper was long past her boiling point.

"You think we're anything alike?! I'm nothing like you! I've done nothing but serve Homeworld since the moment I was created on this stupid planet! I've followed every mission I was on and did it perfectly!"

"W-Well…" Bismuth began to think frantically for a response then a lightbulb went off, "Not exactly from what I heard!"

"Excuse me!?"

"The moment you thought Rose was still around you went on this crazed vendetta against her. Your job was just to grab the Crystal Gems, but as soon as Steven showed up with Rose's shield, you didn't care! You knocked him out, tried to drag him along and instead your ship was blown up and that started the whole problem with Malachite…"

"Shut up! I was desperate!"

"Really? From what I've heard, you got a real kick out of being fused. You even tried to beg Lapis to join you again."

"How'd you learn about that?!"

"Steven told the others. And then, instead of finding some way off Earth, you try attacking again and when that doesn't work you try capturing all those corrupted gems to make some little army."

"You better stop talking right now or I swear I'm gonna break you in half!"

"And that's your problem! You never shut up and actually think about your issues! It's always someone else's fault and somehow that means you get to keep being a colossal jerk your whole life!"

That was the tipping point for Jasper to lash out at Bismuth, summoning her crash helmet and trying to send her into a wall. Unfortunately for her, Bismuth was more than capable of defending herself and knew the layout of the room like the back of her hand. With one quick grab, she held Jasper's fists and then threw her into the main lava chamber before quickly jumping on top of her and holding her face down in the scalding liquid rock.

"Don't you get it yet?!" shouted Bismuth over her struggling, "How long have you been doing this?! How long have you been obsessed with fighting? For some great soldier, you've done nothing on this planet but fail and blame everyone else for it! When are you finally going to get a grip before you end up ruining your life I did!"

"MY LIFE'S ALREADY RUINED!"

Bismuth was shocked at this outburst but held her grip on Jasper nonetheless. Jasper however continued, "Do you have any idea how embarrassing it was on Homeworld? Me, the perfect soldier, coming from the only failed colony in the galaxy? From a defective Kindergarten?! Why do you think I worked so hard?! It was the only thing separating me from being another reject like those Amethysts all stuck at Pink's little zoo!"

There was a hint of pain in her voice as she continued to speak, "And you're right! I lived for my job just like every other gem on Homeworld! I knew the second I stopped being useful, they'd harvest my gemstone and use it to make someone better. And now… I don't know what to do. There's no more fighting, no missions… I can't even go back to Homeworld now because I look like this. And even if I did, what would I do? Talk about how great it is that the thing I was made to do is suddenly wrong?!"

Bismuth began to notice that Jasper's voice was cracking a bit and her tone was slowly getting less angry and more… sorrowful.

"I… Did love being Malachite. It's the only time since I've been here where I was… myself, but even better. I was stronger than ever, but now? I feel… weak. And if I'm weak…"

And then, to Bismuth's complete and utter shock, a few tears actually fell from Jasper's eyes and turned to steam in the lava. "What am I good for?"

Still shocked by this, Bismuth let her go. Even when she was free, Jasper slumped to the ground, her anger now replaced with sadness. After a long silence, the blacksmith finally spoke up.

"Do you know why I brought you here?" When Jasper did not answer, she did it herself.

"I thought you might like something like this. A big tough warrior in a forge surrounded by hand-made weapons? In fact…"

Bismuth then grabbed the helmet Jasper was still wearing and was surprised she did not even try to stop her. The helmet had a unique design with the bottom having two beetle-esque horns protruding forward on each side that Jasper seemed to have added herself.

"Hm…" Bismuth went, both still shocked at Jasper's willingness to hand over her weapon, but now also impressed that she was able to modify it so well. Even now, though, she imagined something to make it even better.

She took out several handfuls of dust from the different barrels she had along one wall of the forge and coated the helmet in it. She applied a light coating of lava to imbue the dust into the metal and then turned shapeshifted one of her hands into a chisel and the other a hammer. Once she finished making a design on front, she began lightly molding the helmet into a slightly different shape. When she finished, she found Jasper had not moved an inch from her spot. She smiled and looked at Jasper directly holding the helmet, then said "This might not be much, but I thought you should have something to remind you that things do get better eventually."

Jasper took hold of her altered helmet and immediately recognized the shape that formed its front: an upside-down version of Pink Diamond's gem. She also noticed that the coloring had changed so that now the undersides of the horns were now a darker pink shade. She gaped at it for a moment before looking up as Bismuth suspiciously.

"Why? Why do this?"

"Because if Steven wants to give you a chance, that's enough for me." Bismuth then held out a hand to help Jasper up. While she stood up on her own, the horned gem put the helmet on and then recalled it back to her gem.

"You're welcome. So, what are you gonna do now?"

Jasper began heading for the entrance before turning around. "I'm gonna get ready to put Red Diamond in her place."

Bismuth smiled as she headed out and warped back towards Beach City. Deciding that she still had plenty of midnight oil to burn, she got back to her work making some more tools and weapons. Even if they were never used, she figured it never hurt to have them around.

* * *

The next day…

Steven woke up with a deep yawn. He then looked at the sunrise and smiled. He not only felt refreshed, but confident that the others would have their plan for Red Diamond all figured out. Now it was just a matter of time for it to go off, but there were still other matters such as his wardrobe. The tank top from his father was nice, but he needed something else. (Starts the next scene with Steven entering town) He looked at his powerful frame in the mirror, and decided to go out and get some more clothes.

"I should get a new outfit…" he said, "I mean, I have a few hours left before the next mission at least."

He headed out into town on the search for some new clothes, still flustered as he walked by several women of varying ages clearly appreciating the view. While the tank top was much less revealing than his old shirt, he could not help but blush and walk a little bit faster whenever he saw someone leering at him. This made him walk a bit faster until he tripped for a split-second and bumped into someone.

"Oof, sorry about that!" he said, looking down and paling when he saw who it was.

"Oh, it's alright, mister, I-" Connie stopped mid-sentence as she got up and only then realized who she was looking at. "Steven… is… is that you…?"

"Connie?! Oh, uh, hi! I-It's been a little while, hasn't it?"

"Not really! What the heck have you been eating?"

Steven only stammered as Connie started walking around him, inspecting him from every angle and only caused his mortification to grow. "Did I miss another monster attack? Did you get poofed again?!"

"Connie, what's all the noise for?" asked Doug Mahesweran as he came in with a grocery bag on his arm from across the street. "Did you not find those books you were looking for?"

"Dad, it's nothing… I think…"

"Hey," he then said, eyeing Steven, "Who's this?"

That alone created an awkward pause. That is until Connie said, "Um… Dad… I don't know how to say this… but that's Steven."

"What? That's preposterous! This man's more than twice his height! I'm pretty sure I'd know if you were hanging around someone twice your age!"

"DAD!"

"Mr. Maheswaran, I can explain!" assured Steven, but that only seemed to raise the father's suspicion.

"And how exactly do you know my name? You haven't been… watching my daughter, have you?"

"NO! I am Steven Universe!"

"Prove it."

Steven then recounted a certain, very bizarre dinner that happened between the Mahesweran family, himself, his father and a highly uncomfortable six-armed alien woman with a serious case of mood swings. Hearing that story again, and knowing he never told another soul about that night, Doug knew this really was his daughter's best friend.

"Oh my goodness… It really is you…!" He said, almost completely speechless.

"Heheh, yeah!" Steven said sheepishly.

"But… but how did you get so… so ripped!?" he asked, still in shock.

"Well, I don't mean to brag, but I have done a lot of training recently," he said proudly, flexing one of his bazooka biceps as he did so.

Connie blushed a bit upon seeing this. Something Steven noticed, causing him to blush as well. Doug was not lost on their mutual embarrassment. "You know, maybe we should go. We still have quite a few errands to run before Priyanka gets home from work, and-"

"W-Wait!" Steven said, "M-Maybe I can help!"

"Oh, that's alright," assured Connie, "I'm guessing you've got some stuff to do for yourself and I wouldn't want us to slow you down."

"Steven, that's very kind of you," said Doug, "But we're on a tight schedule as it is. It's nice to see you, though, and I apologize for the misunderstanding."

Before he could say anything else, the father and daughter shunted off towards another store. Steven watched as Connie seemed to hold her head forward and try not to look back at him. Steven eventually brought himself into a clothing store and after some time silently combing through racks and shelves, he paid for his clothes with his saved-up allowances and left before running back to the temple at super speed.

* * *

He immediately zipped up to his room, still blushing at Connie's reaction upon seeing him. "Okay, that was… awkward…" he said to himself. He then reached into the shopping bag he had with him. Among them is something he seemed to have bought out of haste. It was a pink jacket similar to a letterman jacket. It seemed a bit too small on his huge frame, but there was something about it… He shrugged and simply placed it aside. He then opted to dig through the rest of the objects he bought. He was much bigger than most people so he had to find the largest things he could. They didn't look big enough, but he knew these would last.

First he was able to find a t-shirt. It was midnight blue which looked nice to him. He also found some khakis and sandals. Once he donned both of them, he put on the shirt and was quite pleased by his reflection. True it didn't fit them perfectly, there were a few inches of midriff exposed, but he looked pretty nice, smirking at his reflection, "Yup, this'll do." He then looked at the clock, seeing that it was nearly noon, and wondered what to do next until Garnet came up to his room.

"Nice outfit," she said.

"Thanks! What's going on, though?"

"We're about ready to get the mission underway. Peridot has the Sun Incinerator already so we'll be meeting there in a few minutes."


	22. Chapter 22

Hi there! Sorry for the delay, but I think you will like this chapter. This might entertain you and even want you to return for more... Enjoy!

Chapter 22: Reach for the Stars

* * *

The Gems were currently over at Peridot's and Lapis's home where the Sun Incinerator was parked nearby. They further placed a jamming device in the room to further protect their planning from Red Diamond's forces. All of the major Crystal Gems plus a reluctant Jasper and a relaxed Lars dressed in his full space-pirate regalia were standing around Peridot's chalkboard which now had the steps of the plan formally written out. When the recap of the plan involved Steven using himself as bait, a few of the gems, and Lars, grew either tense or worried. "Um… are you sure it's fine using live bait…?" Lars asked.

"I know," Garnet said, "But Steven seems sure that this is the best way to do this."

"That aside, the plan is actually quite simple," Peridot stated before continuing, "Once Steven gets into position with Onyx's gem and releases her, we take off from here and make a roundabout trip to the satellite. While Steven keeps Red Diamond distracted, we capture it and then I hack into it in order to find the location of the station that deployed it. Then it's a simple matter of flying there and putting it out of commission."

Even for a relatively simple plan, most of the group knew they would be distracted by the thoughts of Steven's ongoing fight.

"Will you all get your heads together?" barked Jasper, "Unless you want to hope that we can take down that thing directly and then deal with whatever assault Red Diamond sends afterward, you need to focus."

While Lapis huffed at her temper, the others admitted she had a point. It was also her position as Steven's backup that had many of the gems worried. This might have been why Garnet has personally asked Lars to come along as backup. Not to mention he was the one who stole the ship in the first place.

"All systems ready…" said Fluorite from the lower deck. Lars thanked her and soon turned to his captain's chair. As soon as Peridot asked him to come along, he had the caterpillar fusion come along to act as engineer while Padparadscha acted as an advisor to the other Crystal Gems on how to best operate the ship. Rutile and Rhodonite wanted to come, but Lars insisted they stay behind to run Spacetries.

Suddenly Padparadsha stated, "I predict everyone will be unnerved when Steven states that he will be a decoy." Partially unaware that said statement has already been spoken just a few seconds ago. "Also, ready for takeoff!"(Your turn)

Eventually, the team all began to board the Sun Incinerator. They all ended up on the bridge of the ship, where Lars proceeded to take his seat in the Captain's chair, something that disgusted Jasper. She was still in disbelief that a single human and a small group of Off-Color Gems were able to successfully steal one of, if not, THE fastest ship in homeworld's arsenal.

"Alright," Peridot said, with a device next to her assigned terminal, "The signal jammer is now successfully connected to the ship. Red Diamond won't be able to track us during our approach."

"Alright, Steven," said Pearl as she gave him a final hug as he and Jasper went to exit the ship, "I want you to be as careful as possible. And if you absolutely need our help, I still have my cell phone on me and-"

"Pearl, I've got this! But thanks," he said as he hugged back, "And you should be careful too."

Eventually, the ship took off. During the trip Steven had a smirk on his face that practically screamed confidence as he held a certain bubbled gem in his hands.

Lars eyes the gemstone and nervously asks, "So… that's the monster gem that nearly took you out?"

"Yep, this gem gave me and Lion a hard time," Steven said, "But we were able to win in the end!"

"You know, I've had some pretty crazy plans in my time, but even I think this one is nuts."

"Trust me, this is gonna work," Steven stated, before adding rather arrogantly, "I've been in worse scrapes before." (Your turn)

"How many laps are we doing in this thing?" asked Amethyst, "I wanna get to the fun part already!"

"Amethyst, this isn't a playdate!" said Pearl, "We are supposed to be covertly infiltrating a hostile space station responsible for broadcasting signals to Red Diamond! There could be anything in there!"

"So… Are we gonna blow it up? Pretty please?"

"All depends," said Garnet, "But we should try to be subtle first."

"Good thing I brought this then!" Amethyst then summoned a familiar-looking gadget out of her gem.

"The molecular density modulator?" asked Peridot, "And just what exactly were you planning on doing with highly advanced technology like that?"

"Peri, come on, don't be naive. The pranking potential with this thing is through the roof!"

Lapis actually giggled at that, as did several of the other passengers, while Peridot just groaned.

* * *

While the Crystal Gems were enjoying the relative calm before their mission went underway, Red Diamond was watching some of the footage captured from her satellite as she worked on her latest subject. Paying no mind to how the gem beneath her was yelling in agony, she replayed Steven's first known activation of his pink form. She then had the footage fast-forward to Steven's sparring with Jasper after his second bout of growth and could hardly contain her excitement. The things she could do with such genetic adaptability…

"My Diamond?" spoke her Pearl over the ship's intercom, "I've recently noticed that many of the Crystal Gems have departed from base in a rather advanced Homeworld starfighter. They have already escaped the range of your surveillance device."

"Hm?" the ex-monarch mumbled, more concerned with adjusting the crystal structure of her latest subject, "Very well then. Make note of any suspicious activity and keep me updated. That will be all."

Red Pearl signed off as the Diamond went back to work. Although she was not the least bit worried, she did skip the footage to the Sun Incinerator's departure and how it quickly sped out of range. Although it was odd seeing them suddenly use the vessel, she reasoned there were numerous options for the flight. She figured she could still keep her focus on the hapless quartz gem begging her to not replace her legs with tentacles.

* * *

Back on Earth, the first step of the plan was nearing its end. After almost a dozen laps around the Earth in various directions, making sure to only be caught once or twice by the satellite, soon it was time to begin the real challenge. Inside the ship, the joking and levity was now gone as everyone was now focused to succeed.

"Target sighted," said Pearl as she manned the actual control of the ship with Padparadscha at her side.

"Lapis, are you ready?" asked Lars from the captain seat. While somewhat jittery, Lapis nodded as she stood by the hull of the ship.

"All systems appear unchanged," said Peridot from one of the control panels.

"Alright then," said Lars, "Steven, Jasper, you both ready at the escape pod?"

"Ready," replied the hybrid, bubbled Onyx in hand.

"Ready and standing by," Jasper added, eager to get her job started already.

"Here it comes!" said Bismuth as they approached the satellite at lightning speed. Pearl quickly activated the ship's nova blasters, but the blasts missed as planned. Soon the satellite began blaring an alarm as Lapis turned on Amethyst's molecular gadget to phase through the ship and soon flew down to gather water from the ocean. It turns out, though, that her job of capturing the satellite would be trickier as it began immediately flying up and away.

"Follow after it!" said Lars, "Looks like its engaging evasive maneuvers."

With some quick maneuvering by Pearl, the ship ascended higher into the sky until their target suddenly veered right and thanks to its much smaller size, the satellite proved almost too much for the ship to keep up with. Garnet was about to suggest using the Star Skipper to outflank it when Lapis suddenly flew into view with a bubble of water several times her size trailing behind her. The satellite moved, trying to avoid the pincer maneuver set up, but Lapis proved faster as she suddenly sent the bubble forward and engulfed it in water before quickly flying into her own trap, pushing the satellite out, and then phasing it and herself back into the Sun Incinerator. It tried to fly away inside the ship, but a quick electric shock from Garnet shorted the thing out long enough for Peridot to get to work. While some of the circuitry inside was unfamiliar to her, she had enough memory of this same type of device to know where the off button was.

"There!" the techie said triumphantly, "Deactivated and prime for hacking!"

Any good cheer was interrupted, though, when the ship suddenly rocked.

"Enemy fighters incoming!" said Padparascha, for once focusing entirely on the present. Four smaller ships zipped right in front of the Sun Incinerator.

"Quick, Jasper, get in!" Steven said as Peridot pressed a button on the console opening the door to one of the few escape pods. Lars went over to them saying, "Alright, I'm pretty sure Peridot had these pre-programmed for this part, so I just need to activate the pod launch sequence and- OOF!"

Suddenly the entire ship shook, knocking Lards forward and into the escape pod, just as it closed, locking him in with Jasper and Steven! And since he already activated the launch sequence, the pod jettisoned from the rest of the ship and began flying helter-skelter away from the battle.

"Lars, stay in your seat!" shouted Padparadscha too late, but soon another bout of turbulence hit.

"Okay, I'm officially in charge," said Garnet, taking Lars' place, "Peridot, get that location of the station as fast as you can. Pearl, we need you to evade these fighters and keep the attention away from them."

"But what about Lars?" asked Bismuth, "He's a fine captain, but from what I hear, he can't do squat in an actual fight!"

"We'll just have to roll with it. It's either we retrieve them later or throw the entire mission away."

* * *

Meanwhile, the trio in question was crammed tight in the escape pod, which is meant for one person, MAYBE two. Jasper was the most uncomfortable in this situation. "Nice going, Captain!" she said mockingly.

"Hey, not my fault if that Diamond actually caught onto us. We all knew this was a risky plan."

"Guys, we need to focus!" said Steven, for once missing his smaller body since that would mean more breathing room, "Lars, where's this thing taking us!?"

"Well… Peridot said she programmed it to follow the Sun Incinerator whenever it reached that station, but other than that? Can't say I know…"

"So now we're all lost?!" shouted Jasper, "If I could move my arms fully, I'd clobber you for this!"

"Jasper, relax!" said Steven, "That's not going to help us. If what Lars said is true, we'll be back with the team in no time! Plus, even if something came after us, I'm pretty sure either of us could beat it."

"I swear you kiss your arm again and you'll be the one getting a clobbering…"

"Why do I feel like I'm back in middle school?" Lars asked no one in particular.

Within a minute or so, they ended up landing on the southern flank of the satellite station. While they were glad to know the others found their destination, the sight before them was anything but comforting. The station was a four-story tall red monolith made up of spheres with dozens of ports for more satellites to enter and exit all along the outside sitting in the vacuum of space. Much to their surprise, they saw many more satellites like the one they captured flying in and out of the ports.

"Guys…" gulped Lars, "Did you find any more of those satellites?"

"Nope, but I'm getting the feeling she's not just watching Earth," answered Steven as their cramped pod came closer and closer to the crimson outpost.

Eventually, they landed in what appeared to be a mixture between a small hangar and a corridor. After settling in place, the escape pod finally opened up, with Lars, Steven, and Jasper falling out.

"Ugh, that was TOO cramped!" Steven said with discomfort, then he said, "You guys alright?"

"Yeah, but what do we do now?" asked Jasper holding the bubbled Onyx, "We can't have your little show with this wimp around."

"Hey! Just because I'm not a gem doesn't mean I'm useless!" protested Lars, but the soldier was not having it.

"Really? Last I heard you got that," she then pointed to the scar over Lars' eye, "From your first fight."

That statement clearly got to Lars, who was instantly ticked, "Listen here you-!"

"Knock it off! Both of you!" Steven said, in an aggressive tone. "We don't need bickering right now! Lars, if you want to stay here, then fine. Jasper and I will head off and do our part."

As much as the other teenager hated feeling helpless, he knew Steven had a point. Unless he found some form of weapon and assuming he could actually use it proficiently, he would just be a liability from this point.

"...Alright," he finally said, "I'll stay here. Although, if you do resort to blowing the place up, please let me know first."

With him safe, the duo ran into the base and found it was surprisingly quiet. They only ran into the occasional patrol of Red Diamond's gems, usually smaller ones in pairs, or robonoids that were easily dealt with. Their plan was to find a large open enough area for their decoy fight to happen in and capture Red's attention while also allowing Jasper to hide in case Onyx proved too much for him. After several minutes of long red corridors, they eventually emerged in what appeared to be a storage room of sorts. It was almost fifteen feet tall and even wider around with dozens of satellites sitting on shelves in various states of assembly while a handful of gems worked to rebuild or operate on them.

They both knew this was the best spot they found. Steven decided to let the plan really start up… "Alright," he said, anticipating what would happen next, "Here we go…" He then popped the bubble and immediately threw the gemstone into the middle of the room. The various repair gems were quickly drawn to the sight of Onyx quickly reforming back to life.

The feral Gem immediately began to let out a loud and angry roar at its surroundings. Many of the repair gems were distraught to see one of their Diamond's more feral creations suddenly running rampant before them. One of them tried to approach her, but Onyx just swatted her aside as she locked eyes with Steven standing a few feet away.

"Hey there!" he greeted with a smirk, "Remember me? I know there's less fur on me then last time, but I can still kick your butt!"

Onyx looked at him. She sniffed at him, then growled; she definitely remembered him. She then began to run at him. Steven, still overconfident to a degree, summoned his shield at the ready. She was about to swipe at him with one of her large claws, only for Steven to bash her to the side with his shield. Before she could retaliate, he was one step ahead of her by grabbing her by the knees and then flinging her into a half-built satellite. Alarms began blaring through the building and several of the gems in the bay charged at him while others ran either to panels along the walls to summon reinforcements or to find more gems to assist.

"Well, got the distraction part down," Steven muttered to himself, "Just hope Red Diamond's watching…"

Onyx was able to recover and slip into shadow form. She began solid again when she was closer to Steven and was about to bite him at the neck! But then Jasper was able to tackle the monstrous gem-beast and pin it down, "No one gets to pummel him but me, you freakshow!"

Suddenly the creature turned back into shadow again slipping from her grasp. However, it seemed that the beast immediately became solid again, as if unable to retain her more shadowy form for long. The Onyx then let out a loud roar at the two. "Heh, looks like we're in for a rough fight," Steven said arrogantly, "You ready Jasper?"

She summoned her crash helmet. "You better win or I'm taking you for another round of training!" she declared smugly, which earned a direct smirk from Steven before the two went back into the fight.

* * *

Meanwhile… Lars was currently over at the escape pod, checking his surroundings. "Okay, this'll be fine," he said to himself, "You've been in worse scrapes than this…"

He kept his eyes peeled for any incoming threats but hearing the sound of crashes and footsteps running away from his direction told him that the other two's distraction was now underway. "Okay…" he stated, "Sounds like they're doing a great job…" However, he still grew nervous nonetheless. "Just wish someone else was there watching his back instead of Jasper. Who does she think she is? And when did Steven get so buddy-buddy with her?"

To him, it was almost hard to believe that big, tough guy now getting involved in this whole mission was the same little kid who kept trying to befriend him. Looks aside, he wondered just how Steven's personality changes came about when something interrupted him. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a pair of Carnelians running right past him. He ducked down behind the pod and prayed they were as stupid as some of the Rubies he met during his time with the Off-Colors. Unfortunately for him, they knew that the bright yellow pod was not one of the usual sights for the station and he could hear them approaching.

Realizing there was no other way he could run or fight, he had to turn to the best tool he had in his arsenal: bluffing.

Rather than hide, he leaped out right in front of the Carnelians and presented himself. "Excuse me? Would you happen to be the repair crew I called ahead for? As you can see, my escape pod here is in desperate need for a tune-up."

The two gems just stared at each other, completely dumbfounded by the pink human in front of him. Then they both looked at Lars, serious looks on their faces, as they each took out weapons, a set of Gem destabilizers, one of them even said, "Intruder!"

Upon this, Lars's face dropped in fear, "Oh crud!" One of them jabbed the destabilizer at him… and all he felt was a tickling sensation.

"H-Hey! Cut it out!" he laughed, much to the confusion of the gems in front of him. That confusion was just enough time for him to jab one in the eye and then grab her destabilizer while she was distracted. The other one tried to zap him, but he swiftly brought the weapon up to block and then landed a clean hit with his pilfered gadget. She was poofed in an instant leaving her partner immensely confused.

"What?! How?! You should be-" she started, but stopped when Lars zapped her into submission as well. Upon seeing the two gems on the floor. Lars then looked at the gem destabilizer in his hand, then grinned.

"Okay," he said, "This'll be fun!"

Lars headed down the same corridor that the Carnelians were walking past and put his stealth skills to the test. While the corridors were generally devoid of obstacles, he was able to hide behind the arches along the side and simply wait out most gems as they ran right past him. The few who did spot him tried to either fight back or run away to warn someone else that there were more intruders in the base before he quickly zapped them. Looking around, he saw that the coast was clear at the moment, so he began to race down a corridor in an attempt to find Steven and Jasper…

* * *

Speaking of which, Onyx was currently, and violently, brushing Jasper aside and was trying to rush at Steven. Evidently, the monster seemed fixated on harming the hybrid who defeated her. Steven had to fling his shield at her like a frisbee in order to stun her. While she was stalled, he tried to regroup with Jasper but the other gems working in the station blocked his path. He tried to get past them, but Onyx charged at him again and soon was on top of him. He managed to fling her off with a bubble, but he was only a few seconds away from losing his face. Jasper having some better luck even as several gems bombarded her at once, but very few of them seemed to have any of Red's augmentations to make them truly dangerous. One of them tried freezing her foot to the ground, but Jasper quickly freed herself by picking up that gem's best friend and smashing her face into the ice until it shattered and said gem was poofed as a result. Steven meanwhile was struggling with the vicious Onyx as she was on top of him he was struggling to hold her back as she was desperately attempting to land a fatal blow. Eventually, he was able to throw her aside, her body slamming against the wall.

Onyx, although shaken up, did not seem any less energized. Now that her hunt was getting more interesting, she decided it was time to stop playing around. She stood up on two legs and with a quick change, now she was fighting with her all. She immediately ran at Steven and tried sucker punching him, only to find his fist hit her face at the same time. The two were on more equal footing, causing a handful of the gems blocking them to try and interfere… Only for Onyx and Steven to knock them away,

"What the?" said Jasper, watching from a distance as she sent an Amethyst away with a kick, "What's gotten into her?" She was forced back into the fight by three gems dogpiling her, but the question was in Steven's head as well.

"You… helped me?" he asked. But as soon as he asked her, she growled, putting him on edge. Then she pounced again. Steven had only a split-second to dodge the attack, and he did. Just barely though. "Are you sure we can't just be friends?" he asked, summoning his shield. He half-wondered if he should use his pink state to gain the upper-hand, but soon he saw something else get his attention. In the entrance of the repair bay was Lars, running towards the back of the crowd surrounding them with a destabilizer. "Steven!" he called out, "I- Whoa!" he saw Onyx, and grew intimidated by her appearance. Onyx then took the distraction as an opportunity and was able to ram Steven successfully. Hitting the wall head-first, Steven slumped as he struggled to keep his eyes open as his brain felt like it was swimming.

"STEVEN!" exclaimed Lars. He tried pushing his way through the crowd, but a pair of gems easily overpowered him and knocked his weapon away.

"Jasper…" Steven said meekly, "Get… Get the others… We need help." Steven personally felt his pride get wounded when he said that. His trainer was equally reluctant to give in, but soon a flood of more gems came in from the doors along with several robonoids activating all along the walls made it obvious that they really did have Red Diamond's full attention.

"Steven, I'm sorry," said Lars as he tried wrestling away from his captors, "I just… Wanted to help, you know? I did stop like a dozen of these guys from bringing help."

"I… I get it. I know the feeling… It's exactly like I was when I was a kid." He brought himself to his feet, much to Onyx's delight. Rather than focus on her, though, Steven focused on summoning two hexagonal barriers between Lars and the gems holding him and pushing them away from the captain.

"Go on, get out of here and find the other gems. Use your cellphone to call Pearl and get them down here…"

Lars panicked for a moment, conflicted on what to do, until he noticed Onyx about ready to pounce yet again. In that moment, he made a decision. Steven never abandoned him even when he was a colossal jerk or even when he died. He was going to repay the favor. With a determined yell he ran towards the lupine monster, grabbing her attention long enough for Steven to slug her in the face before running towards him. They were about to stand back-to-back to face the remaining horde until Steven's gem glowed right as the two's hands touched.

For one instant, the entire room went white as the friends met. When it cleared, someone completely new was standing there. He stood far taller than Jasper with a broad stance and a powerful, muscular build. A bright, brown mohawk with light pink streaks adorned his head. His outfit appeared to be a black, form fitting bodysuit with a bright pink star adorning the center while a vibrant red cape draped to his feet and fluttered behind him. On his feet were a pair of dark pink boots with matching gloves on his hands. The new fusion stood and opened his eyes revealing the electric pink irises looking at the world around him.

No one, not even Onyx, did anything until he spoke for the first time. "So, can I interest anyone in some diplomacy?" The tone in which he spoke seemed arrogant and self-assured.

The others all looked at him in confusion. "I mean, you all appear to be a rational, intelligent group who's more than aware that fighting at this point is futile, no?"

One gem in the crowd did not take kindly to his suggestion. She picked up Lars' dropped destabilizer and rushed right at him… And before she could blink the device was embedded in the ceiling and she was face-down in the floor groaning in pain.

"Okay, definitely the bad apple of the bunch here, but I assume the rest of you are smarter than that?"

When the other gems, especially Onyx, started to ignore Jasper as they crowded around him with hateful looks. "Hm… I guess not," the fusion said in an arrogant tone of voice, complete with smirk. He spread both his arms out with enough speed to send a shockwave that knocked away many of the gems surrounding him. Onyx was one of the few to stand her ground and quickly raced towards him, excited for a brand new challenge. The fusion then simply leaped up on the air and hovered in the air with Steven's floating powers. Onyx leaped up to follow him, but the fusion suddenly kicked her over the head and quickly sent her smashing into the floor. He then tried elbowing her while she was done, but one quick change into her shadow form saved her from the blow. He then looked at where the shadow went and saw it forcibly return to solid form. "Heh, looks like you can't say shadow forever," he said, smirking at this piece of information, something that made Onyx growl in spite.

The two rushed at each other again, but this was different than her clash with Steven. There she could match him blow for blow, but now she was getting pummeled and any blows she landed barely seemed to phase the fusion. It ended when the caped fusion grabbed Onyx by the neck and sent an uppercut that launched her to the ceiling before flying after her and then slamming her back into the floor. She tried to get up, but he simply did it again and again while also knocking away any sneak attacks the other hostile gems in the room tried to land. Soon both the top and bottom of the room were filled with craters along with a completely decimated Onyx who was still conscious by luck at this point.

"Not bad," admired the fusion, "You lasted longer than I thought. How about next time you start thinking with your head a little bit to make this more challenging?"

Onyx let out a whimper in reply as he sent one final punch that finally returned her to her gemstone. Getting up, Jasper was both envious and surprised at the spectacle she just saw. The fusion saw this and shot a smirk her way, "What do you think? Impressive, right?"

"Who… Who are you?" asked Jasper, the fusion's ego being extreme even by her standards. In any other situation, she would be ready to smack the ego out of him.

"Captain Stars at your service!" he said, grinning broadly, "I'll be taking care of the jokers down here from now on. You find the rest of the Crystal Gems and knock out anyone who gets in the way."

Jasper was surprised by how straightforward and confident the fusion was. While she did feel the slight urge to backhand the smirk off his face, she decided to save that for later and charged off back into the base to find the others.

* * *

Meanwhile… Red Diamond was currently dealing with her experiments. Even as one of her satellite stations was currently under attack, she still focused on her scientific progress. That all changed, however, when Captain Stars appeared. Seeing the raw destructive power the new fusion was capable of left her completely awestruck. "How… interesting," she said, "Between this transformation, his astronomical physical growth and the latent powers he continues to reveal…"

"My Diamond?" Red Pearl asked, curious as she entered the door, "Your subject appears to be destabilizing."

The Diamond idly looked down at the operating table and saw the peridot she was working on was half-melting into corrosive green goo. She simply pressed a button on the nearby console that sent the captive gem off the table and into a trap door that led to the quarantine bay. With the distraction gone, Red Diamond turned her full attention to replaying the flamboyant proclamation of Captain Stars and how he now faced a small horde of her guards along with several attack drones.

"Pearl, what do you think?" she asked, "Is there enough forces to handle this new fusion?"

"...I'm eager to find out."

"You should also know we have spotted an unidentified craft approaching the same station some time ago. Reports show it landed only minutes after an escape pod containing those three landed."

"So, a diversion. I must admit, they gave me quite the tantalizing show. Nevertheless, I am more than capable of responding to both threats."

"Your orders then?"

"Pearl, handle that fusion. I know how eager you are to finally best Steven after all this time."

Upon hearing these orders, the servant gave her typical small yet sinister smile, "As you wish, my Diamond."

* * *

Meanwhile, Captain Stars was currently making his way down a hallway, poofing the occasional gem as he looked for a way to shut the satellite down. Even with over forty gems returned to their gemstones and a bay full of smashed robots later, the base proved to be quite well-equipped. Klaxons of gems arrived to stop him, more robotic defenses were activated and at one point a wall of lasers appeared in front of him. None of them even slowed him down as he made his way through corridor after corridor trying to find the Crystal Gems. Turns out lasers cannot do much to you when you easily summon a bubble shield that already survived planetary reentry.

Eventually, he arrived at what appeared to be a control room with monitors dominating one wall. He stepped inside and quickly found what he was looking for. One of the screens showed the Crystal Gems in a large chamber along with a glowing energy sphere, he supposed that would be the core of the base, and they were completely surrounded!

"Don't worry guys," he said to himself, "I'll be there as fast as I can-"

"Will you now?" said Red Pearl with the tip of her jagged sword touching the base of the captain's neck, "I believe it's time for me to finally bring you to Red Diamond. She's just dying to see you."

"So, you saw my little show?"

"Naturally, but we're not naive enough for you to trick us like that."

"And you're not strong enough to take me in."

"Care to prove that?"

In a flash, Captain Stars turned and grabbed the sword with his bare hand. He held it by the tip of the blade before clapping it between his hands and shattering the metal in one stroke.

"Gladly."

* * *

Red Diamond took a look at him, and smiled. "Well, this is going to be… entertaining," she said in a sinister tone, "I look forward to evaluating this fusion's capabilities. She then began to shapeshift into her monstrous form.


	23. Chapter 23

**Chapter 23: A Stellar Brawl**

At the same moment that the escape pod containing Steven, Lars, and Jasper landed at Red's satellite station, the Sun Incinerator was making its approach. The eight gems inside were completely silent as their towering red target. They already knew this was a risky operation, but the added risk of Lars being separated from the bunch and thus put in far further danger than originally intended meant that all of them were all the more nervous even with Peridot's assurance that the pod would arrive in the same place.

Adding to the dread was the fact that nothing stopped them from reaching one of the many ports along the station. There were no force fields, security checks or even other gems patrolling the bay. They hoped it was because the other three had made their distraction and not because the megalomaniacal Diamond saw them coming.

"Does… anyone else have a bad feeling about this?" Amethyst asked the group. Some of them gave her looks of mutual concern, "Yeah I thought so…"

"Alright, once we land," said Garnet as Pearl landed the craft, "Everyone except Padparadscha and Fluorite disembarks. We need to stick together here and make our way to this place's control room."

"Then, I hack into Red's systems," said Peridot excitedly, "Who knows what kind of critical information she could have?"

"Just be sure to keep your head in the real world for now," said Lapis. Soon the ship's landing ramp was open and the main Crystal Gems set foot into the port. The lack of any sort of alarm from their arrival made them all the more nervous.

"This doesn't feel right…" Pearl stated.

Nodding to this statement, Garnet then said, "Agreed. Somehow I get the feeling they're expecting us."

"That or Red's so overconfident that she doesn't care," said Bismuth.

They proceeded out of their landing zone and down the hall where, soon enough, they ran into their first obstacle as a pair of quartzes spotted them. Much to their confusion, the pair did not raise an alarm of any kind but just attacked them on sight. While they were quickly dispatched by the group, it raised more questions.

"Okay, that was just too easy," Amethyst pointed out.

"Agreed," Peridot stated, "Something else is going on…"

The group met similarly low resistance as they continued on with little more than scattered squads of gems, never more than four at a time, and the occasional junction that led to a dead end. Despite the relatively calm trip, their nerves only grew as more and more they felt someone was playing an elaborate practical joke at their expense.

And then, just to really rub in that feeling, Red Diamond appeared behind them.

"You all appear lost," she said casually, "Would you care from some directions?"

"Ach!" Amethyst was the first to react, trying to use the flails on her whip to hit her… only for the blunt object to literally go straight through her.

"Oh come on!" groaned Lapis, "A hologram?"

"You didn't think we were tracking you this whole time?" the virtual pearl asked, "You give us too little credit."

"So now what?" asked Bismuth, "You gonna sound the alarm and let the whole base know we're here?"

Just as the blacksmith said that, an alarm began blaring and the hologram seemed distracted before refocusing on them. "Alright, so your little diversion worked. The orders are already out to send more gems to the lower repair bay, but don't think you've escaped."

The hologram vanished and soon the Crystal Gems realized that their mission was now really beginning. They made their way up several levels and found far more resistance as a squad of eight guards met them head-on.

"Give up!" demanded one of the guards, "We have you outnumbered!"

Immediately Bismuth took up a combat stance, followed by everyone else.

"You first," she said in a simple tone. The two sides then charged at each other and soon the corridor became a battleground. Even if numbers were not on their side, the Crystal Gems proved more than enough to overpower the guards. Between Peridot using the metal hallway itself as a weapon, Lapis' intangibility from the MDM and the other four being more seasoned warriors, the rebels were soon alone in the corridor once again. "Alright Gems," Garnet stated, "Let's keep moving!" the others nodded more or less and they followed her down the corridor. The group soon found that Steven and Jasper's distraction was well underway as few other gems stopped them while a few even ran past them on their way down to a lower level. Finally, the six rebels arrived in what appeared to be the central power source of the station. A massive red orb made of energy floating between two columns sat in the middle of the towering room with conduits running from the base of the center into the wall.

"Well, looks like we found the right place," said Lapis, "But now what?"

"Peridot, start working on those computers," said Garnet, pointing to the workstation near the center, "The rest of us will guard the place to make sure no one gets inside."

And then, just as if they were jinxed, a series of ports opened up along the wall revealing dozens of gems each that began pouring into the room. It took little time for them to be surrounded on all sides.

"It's a trap!" Peridot said as she observed the enemy soldiers.

"Thank you, Captain Obvious," said Amethyst in a deadpan tone. Before any fight could break out, though, several quakes suddenly rocked the room and brought everyone to a standstill...

* * *

The transformed Red Pearl and Captain Stars wasted no time going for each other's throats. The four-armed gem literally lunged and planned to crush his windpipe, but the fusion was more than ready. He leapt away from her lunge and then ricocheted off the wall to slam both his fists into her side.

"Nice try," he said as the beast picked herself back up, "But you'll need to be a lot smarter than that."

Red Pearl growled in frustration as she opened two of her hands and let loose twin jets of razor-sharp wind, but the captain had a plan for that too. He summoned a pair of barriers in front of him that stopped the blasts dead in their tracks and let him run between them to reach his foe. The pearl tried lashing at him with her tail, but that didn't work as he was able to grab at the tail safely. He then used his immense strength to pull at the tail and fling the servant gem over his head. While she landed on her feet and arms, the blow made cracks in the floor and shook the entire station.

"And you're gonna have to be a lot stronger too," boasted Captain Stars, "You sure you don't wanna have a warm-up?"

The creature slowly got up upon hearing that. She let out a loud roar! This only made Captain Stars give off a lighthearted smirk in her direction. He dashed right at her this time, barely giving her a moment to breath before leaping into the air and aiming a falling kick straight at her back. She managed to leap back up in time, but this caused him to go right through the floor and fall into another ship bay. Red Pearl wasted no time leaping after him and trying to shred him to pieces. He managed to leap to the side then he summoned his sword and shield…

Only a different weapon popped out. The shield looked unchanged for the most part, but he noticed that now the blade of his sword was sticking out instead of the handle. His hand gripped the center of the shield and found five more blades popped out to make the once-defensive weapon look like a giant throwing star.

The monster looked less than impressed as she lashed her tail at him while also blasting him with an air jet, but he was quick enough on the draw to jump over the one attack, block the gust with his new weapon and then send it flying in one movement. The new weapon spiraled through the air, a high whistle forming as it streaked through the air before it sliced one of Red Pearl's arms clean off.

"Okay…" he said with an even bigger smirk, "I can work with this. You, on the other hand, look like you need some help." He then brandished the weapon again, grinning arrogantly, "Last chance to back out."

The Gem creature merely growled in anger at the fusion as her arm regenerated, who merely had a look on his face and said, "Suit yourself." He ran over to recover his new toy before charging at Red Pearl again. He quickly found that he could will the blades to spin even when on his own and turned it into a makeshift chainsaw that forced Red Pearl to use all four of her arms to just barely block the weapon. She managed to catch him with her tail, but that only let him slice that off the stinger. He then put the weapon away and grabbed the monster by two of her arms before flinging her into another wall. She tried to get back up again, but this time he summoned a spiked bubble around himself and rammed into her with enough force to send her through the wall, even more satellite ships waiting for repair and even a few gems who had not cleared out the area. It only stopped when he reached what seemed to be the outermost wall of the station as instead, the entire structure began to tilt from the force of his charge.

* * *

These tremors were felt by the other Gems who wobbled as the floor shook a bit too hard.

"What is going on!?" Pearl said, shocked at the damage that was automatically happening around them. Monitors along the wall were smoking and the power core above them was beginning to flash an even darker shade of red.

"What did you traitors do?!" demanded one of the guards, "Did you plant bombs or something?!"

"Not quite," said a gruff voice from the entrance before bowling over several gems to reach the center of the room. Jasper then stood up and faced the others who all gawked at her.

"What did you do now?!" insisted Lapis, "We said make a distraction, not tear the place apart!"

"Too bad," Jasper snapped back, "At least you got your distraction!"

Suddenly another violent tremor was shaking the ship. "Yeah! We can tell!" Amethyst said in a deadpan tone.

"Well, better not blow it then!" said Bismuth as she charged forward and hammered another gem in the face. Realizing they had a golden opportunity on their hands, the others all jumped into the fight. They dominated the room for a few minutes as their opponents, even outnumbering them five to one, were too shaken from all the quakes to put up much resistance. By the time most of them got their heads on straight, almost a quarter of them were bubbled. Once the rest started focusing on the actual fight, things got much harder as the power room descended into a warzone while the base began to slowly turn as an even bigger brawl occurred several stories beneath them.

* * *

Captain Stars kept drilling Red Pearl into the wall until something else caught his attention from behind. One of the many robonoids from the bays he smashed through had followed him through and revealed a laser. He was not worried about the damage until it started blasting it back towards the rooms he passed and soon dozens of machines provided the monstrous pearl with backup.

He still was not phased as he summoned dozens of barriers to form a dome over himself and his main opponent, but soon stopped when Red Pearl picked up his bubble in all four of her hands. Even as the spikes dug into her palms, she squeezed the bubble as the robots began to open fire on the barrier between them. Between the barrage of laser fire against his shield and the pressure on his personal defenses, the captain spontaneously cut both powers as he leapt into the air.

The monster briefly thought he was retreating until he suddenly appeared behind him and literally flew into the ceiling with her tail in his hands. The robots continued to fire, but now they blasted Red Pearl while he made his way to the high ceiling and threw her into it and onto the next floor.

* * *

"What the heck is Steven doing!?" Pearl asked with panic and worry as everything shook even further!

"If this keeps up," said one of the guard gems, "This whole place will fall apart!"

Everyone from both sides grew nervous upon hearing that. Then another tremor sounded out.

"Uh…" Amethyst began, "Did that sound… closer…?"

Thud.

Thud.

CRASH!

Red Pearl and Captain Stars ended up bursting through the wall from the room next door. When the group heard the constant shouts and roars now sounded clear as day, everyone started panicking especially as a giant pink blade flew clean out of the wall and sliced through half a dozen enemy gems, poofing them all successfully before stopping. The Crystal Gems, recognizing Steven's shield, were filled with even more questions until the captain himself came through the same wall.

"Okay…" he muttered, "You actually got one on me. But next time I'll-"

"STEVEN?!" shouted the Crystal Gems minus Jasper. She was more preoccupied with Red Pearl's eye peering through the hole she made with his body.

"Questions later!" said Captain Stars, "You all need to leave. This fight is way too intense for anyone else!"

"But Steven, or whoever you are," insisted Pearl, "You can't be serious!"

"I'm completely serious! That monster's not gonna stop until I put her down and I can't do that with you all in the way!"

"He's got a point," admitted Garnet, "This place will be out of commission soon if the damage keeps up."

"No way!" protested Lapis, "Steven, we can't just abandon you!"

"This team sticks together!" agreed Bismuth.

"What would we do if you didn't come back?!" cried Amethyst.

"I know…" the captain said, all his bravado gone for a moment, "But I have to do this. That thing is Red Diamond right-hand. If I beat her, maybe that'll get Red Diamond to back off. I need to do this alone, you guys."

Red Pearl watched the whole thing as the enemy gems quickly stormed out of the room, recognizing the fight was too much for them. Her eyes then turned to Peridot, the techie's eyes more concerned with the fusion than her. She raised one of her hands to the same whole and sent a blast of razor wind right at her back.

"Look out!" said Jasper as she ran for her one-time comrade and tackled her to the floor. The blast his Jasper instead and sent both gems slamming into the opposite wall.

"Peridot!"

"Jasper!"

When both of them stood up, it was obvious neither of them were unscathed. Jasper's back was riddled with cuts from the intensity of the wind and Peridot was shaking like a leaf while keeping her hands over her gem.

"That's it, we're going," affirmed Garnet. While the other gems heeded her words, Captain Stars had his head down as Red Pearl's fists broke through the wall completely. She was about to pull the other fusion along, but his feet were planted to the floor as he stared ahead.

"Garnet, get out of here," he snarled, "I'm finishing this."

Red Pearl seemed amused by the threat and roared at him as she entered the room fully. Suddenly, Captain Star's face… looked murderous… "You think that's funny?!" he screamed, "Let's see you laugh _when I rip your head off!_"

He let out a splitting scream as his entire body started glowing a radiant pink until suddenly he was consumed by it. The floor began to crack underneath him as he stared his four-armed foe down with a hot pink aura now surrounding his entire body. His muscles tensed slightly and his face was contorted into an expression of pure rage, eyes focused directly on Red Pearl.

"Everyone, get out," he said to the Crystal Gems behind him. All of them stood there, completely dumbstruck, until he suddenly snapped.

"I said get out, NOW! I'm going to lose it soon and I don't want to break any of you by accident!"

Everyone looked at the captain in concern. Garnet though took one look at Steven, frowning as she did so, then nodded. "Alright," she said, then to the others, "You heard him, let's move!"

"What!?" Jasper said in shock, "But-!"

"Come on!" Garnet said, ushering them away from the area.

Red Pearl watched them go, half-tempted to chase after them instead until Captain Stars grabbed her by the neck.

"You wanted my attention? Congratulations, you've got it."

He flung her over his back so she landed face first into the floor where the captain then summoned another giant shuriken and tried to nail her with it while she was down. Unfortunately, she managed to deflect it with her tail in the nick of time and then was ready to pounce on him. Much like Onyx, she charged at him on all fours and managed to be fast enough to slash him across the chest. While not enough for any lasting injury, it did make his temper even worse.

He angrily growled at the vicious servant before him. He rose and then began to charge at the creature. Red Pearl thought she was ready for a head-on assault, but was taken off-guard when he slid under her and took out two swords to slice her underside. She managed to flip over in time to avoid disembowelment, but she still reared back in pain from the attack. Captain Stars, however, felt no sympathy as he leapt up and kicked his enemy in the face at blistering speeds to the point where several footprints were embedded on her face when she finally managed to swipe him away.

And yet he did not smirk or show any arrogance. Only pure, seething anger, he then summoned his weapon again. He threw the massive blade at her right as she was distracted, but she fired off all four of her air cannons in a concentrated blast. While Captain Stars was surprised to see his weapon lose momentum and get blown away, he was not the least bit deterred. "You really think that'll stop me!?"

As the massive air blast came closer, he held out his hands and let loose a blast of hot pink energy to match Red's attack.

"Did you forget I'm part-Diamond?!" he yelled as their blasts struggled, "Nothing your insane boss can do to you will beat me!"

With one final push, his energy surged right through her blast and sent her flying into a wall. Much to her horror, she also saw all four of her hands had been blown up by the blast. Feeling she had finally bitten off more than she could chew, Red Pearl turned tail to run but Captain Stars was not having any of that.

"This ends now," he whispered as he prepared one final attack. He raised a hand in the air and formed and condensed as much energy as he could gather into a glimmering pink sphere the size of his head. He crushed it in his fist, changing it into a mass of particles, before flinging them right at the retreating Pearl.

"You're not hurting anyone else!"

The mass of energy flew right at her, giving her just enough time to turn around and see the scattered blast approaching her. She raised her still-reforming arms as one last defense before she was engulfed. When the light cleared, Captain Stars watched as Red Pearl opened her eyes and saw that she looked none the worse for wear. As her hands finished reforming, she cackled in glee thinking his attacking failed. She was about to charge once again, but then felt a stabbing pain in her lower right hand. She tried looking at it, but soon it burst into sparkles before she could even move it. She screeched in pain from the sudden explosion of energy as the same happened to several other parts of her body. Then in a matter of seconds she poofed, her form finally dematerializing until only her gem was left behind.

Seeing this, Captain Stars slowly began to calm down a bit, "Serves… you right…" he said, finally panting from some exhaustion. He wasn't done yet though, as, still with a serious expression, he began to approach the gemstone, intending to bubble it…

...Right before an explosion rocked the room! His blast ended up also hitting the energy core in the center of the room, setting off a chain reaction that was slowly destroying the ship before his very eyes!

"Well, the base is destroyed," he thought optimistically, but then realized something else. "THE GEMS!"

He completely forgot they were still inside! The fight completely consumed his attention and with the damage he already made on the lower levels, there was no telling how long it would be before the whole place collapsed. He took one last look at the red gem still sitting on the floor, but immediately decided keeping his family safe was more important. He summoned a bubble and then bolted out the door, rolling through the corridors as fast as possible while trying to keep from damaging the place further. As chunks of the floor fell out from behind him and explosions kept sounding off from every direction, he felt the chances of the team making it out worse and worse.

* * *

Meanwhile… the gems in question made it to the hangar, where they saw the destruction unfold right before their very eyes. Sections of the wall were breaking off and they saw a few of the unluckier soldiers stationed here scrambling for either a transport ship or an escape pod.

"Everyone, get on!" said Rhodonite, "This place will fall apart any minute!"

"But what about Ste- I mean, that new fusion?!" argued Pearl, "What do we do? Let him get blown into space?!"

"I mean, he seems pretty tough," said Amethyst, "Maybe he could…"

"Do NOT joke with me on this! If he gets hurt, I'm going to find Red Diamond and shove my spear right into her-"

"Pearl, come on, this isn't helping!" said Bismuth from the gangway while Garnet, Lapis, Peridot and Jasper already were inside, "We won't be able to do a thing for him if we all get blown to bits!"

However the group saw someone running in the distance. A pink bubble was running towards them… "Wait," Amethyst said, "Is that…?"

"Guys, get out of here!" shouted Captain Stars as he knocked aside any rubble and fleeing gems in his way, "This place is going down!"

Thankful that he was still alive, but still panicking about the destruction, the Crystal Gems, Off-Colors, and Jasper followed him back into the ship.

There Captain Stars began to pant a bit, in a mixture of exhaustion or fear. Just as he made it to the ship, his body briefly turned into light before revealing an exhausted Steven and Lars.

"Come on, dudes!" said Amethyst as she hoisted them both by the shoulder, "No time for slacking off now!"

They were eventually inside the ship, abruptly dropped by Amethyst, who then said, "Let's blow this dump!"

The Off-Colors wasted no time getting the ship powered up and soon blasted out of the gates just as a massive chunk of ceiling flattened where they were docked. Peridot and Jasper looked out the viewport just as the base finally exploded completely, debris being flung for miles while they saw dozens of escape pods flee in multiple directions.

Lars looked at the scene in shock, "Whoa… I… Steven and I… did all that!?" He was almost speechless! He knew from Rhodonite and Fluorite that fusion was impressive, but this was unreal! He almost could not wait to fuse again, but that changed when he saw Steven. The older teen was lying face down on the floor of the ship.

"Steven?" asked Bismuth, "You okay, buddy?"

"No…" he muttered, "I can't believe I did that."

"Well," spoke Garnet, "It was only partially you. That's the thing about fusion: you do things you'd never do when you're alone."

"Yeah but I feel like… it was mostly ME who wanted to do those things! I mean, Captain Stars really wanted to pound on Red Pearl and- and NOT care about the consequences."

"You were just trying to protect Peridot," Garnet explained further.

"Steven, protecting your friends isn't wrong," defended Lapis, "We'd all do the same thing if that freak wasn't so overpowered."

"But what about you guys?" he rebutted, "The whole place almost blew up with all of you still in it!"

"We went into this knowing it was risky," said Jasper, much to everyone's surprise, "The chances of getting blown up were there long before your fusion got involved." She looked at her student, hoping that statement would help him cheer up. He lifted his head for a moment, but remained still.

"Steven?" the hybrid turned to look at Lars, who was rubbing the back of his neck for a second, "... I'm just glad we made it out alright. Is that good enough?"

Steven looked at him for a while and said, "Y-Yeah… I guess you're right."

"Exactly," assured Garnet, "We did what we came for and no one got hurt from it all."

"You've got a point there," said Lars, "I've had my share of close calls and it got the Off-Colors in trouble a few times. It's not exactly easy, but you just gotta move on from it."

"You think so?" asked Steven.

"I know for a fact that I needed time to unwind when I used to work for Homeworld," said Peridot, "No better relaxation than manning gem extractors…"

"Whatever floats your boat, man," shrugged Amethyst.

"Relaxation huh?" Steven said, deep in thought, "... Yeah, that actually sounds like a good idea. I need a break from… all of _this_."

Some of them gave him a look of concern, others gave a look of agreement, but all saw he had something of a point. It still had not been long since his panic from awakening his pink form and now to throw on accidentally endangering his entire family onto the pile made everyone agree he needed some distance, not from them, but rather from the dangers that these missions would put him through. Plus, after over a year of helping out the Crystal Gems and ending the conflict with Homeworld, they felt he deserved something of a vacation.

* * *

Meanwhile in deep space, in the ruins of the space station… A lone gemstone drifted among the rubble. While it had some hairline fractures along its surface, it was relatively intact. It was not long before a small red pod flew in and carried the gem away in a tractor beam back to Red Diamond's flagship.

Once it reached the ship, the pod raced straight towards Red Diamond's laboratory where the deranged scientist was rewatching the battle between her right-hand gem and the enraged Captain Stars, completely enraptured.

"To think… His potential goes so far…" she muttered to herself, "He actually beat her." Before she could decide if that was more exciting or worrying, the pod flew in front of her face with Red Pearl's gem in tow. The Diamond snatched up the stone and proceeded to send a small pulse of her own energy into it to revive the pearl for a few moments to fully assess the damage. While her body started to reform as usual, something was clearly wrong as the half-formed shrieked before fully forming. The Diamond experienced a rare moment of shock seeing her once-proud servant with one of her arms missing and multiple scars along her body.

"My Diamond…" she whispered painfully, "My deepest apologies… I failed. That last fusion proved too much even for your augmentations."

"It will be alright, Pearl. Some of the blame… Is mine."

"W-What?"

"All of these straightforward attacks have failed. Abducting him, blatant ploys, and even espionage all failed. I need to be more strategic here… But for now, my biggest priority is making an even better body for you. You've done well, Pearl. That will be all."

Soon, the energy infusion ran out and the maimed pearl was only a damaged stone again.

Red Diamond knew she had to change gears. And soon, she would have a new plan, a different plan, and hopefully, a plan that would succeed...


	24. Chapter 24

(Sorry Everyone! No time for a recap of reviews! I'll be posting one chapter per day for the next three days. So a new chapter will come PER day for a while! I hope you Enjoy!)

* * *

**Chapter 24: Big Break**

Two days after the latest mission, the Crystal Gems were pleased that Red Diamond's satellite base was destroyed. While it was comforting to know they were no longer being watched, there was one thing on most of their minds; Steven.

Their youngest member had made his intention to relax clear and started spending most of his time away from the others. It was a hard pill for many of the gems to swallow, but they all agreed it was for the best.

* * *

Right now, the young gem was in the outskirts of the city training even harder than before. He has been at it since they came back to Earth. He has been trying to use training to clear his head. At the moment, he was taking a cue from Jasper's book and using some stones he gathered as punching bags. He figured even if he was on a break, he should not let his technique falter. Only he was taking it to even more extremes as the stones he picked for his more recent training sessions were more solid and sturdier than usual along with being much bigger.

Said stones were not the only thing to have grown. Over the past few days, Steven had gone from buff to ripped to borderline brutal. His arms and legs looked like columns of muscle supported by a constantly-showing eight-pack underneath a pair of large, slab-like pectorals that made his newer shirt strain greatly even when he was still. Despite how drastic the changes had been, Steven had barely noticed as he focused entirely on the twenty-foot tall stone. He kept his eyes closed for a few moments until he suddenly opened them, ran towards it faster than a bullet and obliterated the entire thing with a single punch. He then went to an even bigger stone and began to pick it up.

* * *

With minimal effort, he lifted the stone above his head and moved from a crouch up to a full stand as he dead-lifted the thousands of pounds of rock. While his body only felt a mild burn, his shirt finally gave out and tore into tatters. Even then, Steven's mind did not waver as he slowly tightened his grip on the bottom of the stone. With each lift, a web of cracks spread larger and longer as they made their way to the inside of the giant rock. After twenty lifts, the stone fell apart into a mess of rubble with him not even scratched by the rocks falling on top of him.

His little workout did not go unnoticed, though, as a very surprised Lapis Lazuli touched down right in front of him.

"Oh, hey Lapis!" he greeted smiling a bit with his voice deeper now.

"STEVEN?!" she gawked, "How long have you been out here?!"

"Since a little after sunrise. What's wrong? You sound a little tense."

"Uh, it's nothing," she insisted, trying to distinctly ignore how he was still half-naked and his voice was deeper still, "But what's going on with you?"

"I'm doing what I planned on: taking a break. I head out early in the morning and then come back home to sleep."

"Really? None of the other gems have seen you come or go from the house in the past two days."

"What can I say? I'm an early-riser!" he said rather arrogantly.

"Uh-huh, sure… So, how are you feeling?"

"Heh, I feel awesome!" he said, proudly flexing his bazooka-turned-cannon biceps.

"I… see…" Lapis Lazuli said rather skeptically, "You wanna get some clothes on now?"

"Why? It'd just get ripped again."

"Well, we can get a bigger size…"

"Plus it'd be a shame to hide all my work."

That made Lapis do a double-take and without another word, she flew off. Rather than be concerned, Steven just waved her goodbye and went back to his free time.

* * *

Later he was walking down the streets of Beach City. After taking his training as he wanted, he felt it was time for a break and to spend some quality time with the people of his hometown. He had a destination in mind, but appreciated the serene atmosphere of the town along with the attention he was receiving. Unlike the time after his last growth spurt, this time he felt no shame or embarrassment whatsoever as he strutted down the sidewalks still showing off his muscles. Even when he caught the eyes of ladies passing by, he soaked in the compliment instead of blushing.

* * *

All of this fueled his already grand ego as he eventually made it to the warehouse commonly used by Sadie Killer and the Suspects. The only thing missing was the band itself and any of their equipment. While part of him was tempted to leave, he knew this was the day the quartet would be there soon to rehearse for the week and decided now was a time to both continue his workout and show off more of his work. He leapt up to one of the support beams on the ceiling and started doing pull-ups until the group arrived. And when they did, Buck Dewey looked up and saw Steven, surprised at what he was looking at, "Whoa… Steven?"

"Steven!?" Sadie said in shock, "Is that really you!?"

"Hm?" Steven looked down and saw them, "Oh, hey guys!"

"Working out a bit?" asked Sour Cream, "Or did you come to watch us rehearse."

"A little bit of both, but I guess I got here too early. Decided to pass the time with, let's see… 238 pull-ups."

"Fitness is cool, man," said Buck, as unfazed as ever, "I respect it."

However, it was Greg who was truly shocked at his son's new physique! He was carrying in the first of many pieces of equipment for the rehearsal and was immediately floored to see his son both shirtless and ripped enough to make bodybuilders feel inadequate. "WHOA!" he exclaimed, "S-Steven!?"

"Hi there, Dad! What's up?" he said while stretching his arms up, showing off his muscles some more flexing his biceps, hard.

"Well, uh, we were about to set up all the sound gear for rehearsal so…"

"Really? I could help!"

"You know, Steven," said Sadie, looking visibly uncomfortable, "It's been nice seeing you again, and you seem to be doing… well for yourself, but-"

"Oh come on, Sadie," said Jenny, blatantly staring at Steven, "He's just trying to be a gentleman! Why not let him help?"

"Trust me, this will only take a few minutes," boasted Steven, much to Sadie and Greg's disbelief. They were even more shocked when he lived up to his word and brought in every single speaker, the electronics, and all their instruments from Greg's van in three minutes flat. All with his muscles and super strength on full display. "There we go!" he said almost arrogantly, "That was easy."

"Wow, thanks, dude!" said Sour Cream, "You just saved us almost half an hour!"

Steven smirked, "Well yeah. That's what I do."

While Buck was similarly impressed, the others had different reactions. Sadie and Greg shared a worried glance, not liking how full of himself the once-humble teen was becoming. Jenny, however, felt the opposite.

"Steven, you are the best! Do you think you could do this for all our rehearsals?"

"Ah, why not! I'm always happy to help."

"And, you know, if you wanna stick around and watch and then afterwards we can…"

"Uh, sorry Jenny!" interrupted Greg, intentionally stepping in between the two kids right before Jenny could touch his shoulder, "This are private rehearsals! Besides, I think your melodies have been a little off the past few times so I wanna focus on fixing that."

While Jenny looked bummed, Stevne went along with it and bid them all goodbye. Rather than leave through the door, he instead decided to leap out of the hole in the warehouse's roof.

Greg just stood there in shock at what he just witnessed… "Whoa…"

"Wow," Sour Cream said, "Steven's really bulked up, hasn't he?"

"Yeah and that's not all that got bigger," said Sadie bitterly, "Is it just me or was Steven's ego inflated?"

"Maybe, but can you blame him?" retorted Jenny, "Most guys can't even dream of looking like that!"

"He's just been working hard," said Buck, "Plus, he did still help out like he would have before."

Greg however, stood there in shock trying to re-register what he just saw. "Well, I mean you're both right, but it's only been a few days. Last time, he was still mostly the same awkward, lovable goofball he's been for years. And now a few days go by and he's suddenly some super-ripped action hero acting like he's better than everyone! I know there's building confidence, but maybe it's starting to go a little too far."

"I… gotta agree with Mr. Universe there guys," Sadie added, "Steven's always been a lot of things, but egotistical wasn't one of them. The most he'd do back then was show off whatever new toy he had or adventure he went on like he was a little kid. Now he reminds me of a lot of arrogant jocks from school."

This remark made Greg worry somewhat for his son…

* * *

Speaking of Steven, he returned to his workout on the outskirts of town. Seeing the stunned expressions of so many people made him redouble his efforts to get even stronger. Even then, though, the real effort that kept him going was making sure that Red Diamond and her flunkies would never endanger his family or home ever again. He wondered briefly if he should have told Lapis that when she saw him…

Then, as he returned to his personal training ground, he encountered someone, "Jasper?"

The warrior gem turned around and saw the larger Steven. While never one to show her emotions most of the time, even she could not help but look shocked by the fact that he was now on par with her in terms of size and her reaction was not lost on her pupil.

"Yeah, I get it, it's a lot to take in," he boasted. Unlike the others, Jasper was actively impressed with his new attitude.

"And here I thought you were spending your time out here singing or whatever," she said, "And it's only been a few days."

"Yep! You haven't seen anything yet! Next time Red Diamond shows up, I'll send her flying into the next galaxy!"

Jasper actually laughed at that, much to Steven's own surprise, and turned away to walk off. "Well, looks like Lapis was full of it… again."

"Wait, what?"

"Yeah," Jasper said, "She seemed to whine to the rest of us about how you changed way too much, but what does she know? This is an improvement in my book!"

"No kidding!" Steven said, flexing both of his arms, "And soon I'll get even bigger than this!"

Jasper gave him a proud smirk, "That's the spirit kid! Aim high!"

"When you get back to the temple, be sure to tell them that. That and… I'll be fine, okay?"

"Whatever. I find you slacking off here, though, I'll kick your butt again!"

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah! Think I can't?"

Steven smirked. He once again decided to let his actions speak for him. He leapt several thousand feet into the air and then plummeted back to Earth hard enough to create a massive crater and cause a small earthquake that could be felt far past the town limits of Beach City.

When Steven stood up none the worse for wear, he looked up from the sixty-foot deep hole he just created and stared at Jasper's impressed expression , saying with an arrogant tone, "You call THAT slacking off?"

Jasper smiled a bit from the reaction and ran off back to the temple, planning to tell off Lapis for getting everyone worried over nothing.

* * *

The mood in the beach house was rather tense despite the pleasant weather outside and the lack of any incoming danger. The original three Crystal Gems sat in the main room waiting for Jasper to return. Hearing Lapis recount how drastic Steven's body and attitude were changing put them all on high alert. Sending Jasper out to confirm this was a risky move to them, but they also believed she was the best bet. Given how much closer they got after his extended training trip and word of his new attitude, she actually became the best candidate.

After what felt like an eternity, Jasper returned to the house to tell the others what just happened.

"... And that's the whole story," she said, finishing her recap of events to the Crystal Gems. While the story was not nearly as bad as Lapis made it out to be, there were still alarm bells ringing in their heads.

"I don't like the sound of this," said Pearl, "It's one thing to be proud of yourself, but this is going too far."

"Psh, whatever," shrugged Jasper, "I say it's a change for the better. He's been nothing but a softy this whole time. I think some backbone is what he actually needs."

Pearl was about to speak against that, but Garnet stopped her. "Jasper, you haven't known Steven his entire life. For as long as we can remember, he's been a lover."

"Yeah, and that's worked out every time…" grumbled the gem, but that got Pearl even angrier.

"I'm sorry, but you are in no position to criticize him! He's given you a second chance when no one else would! Would you rather he'd just write you off as evil?!"

"Don't care. That's the past and I don't think like that."

"Guys," said Amethyst, "I think Jasper might be right here."

Pearl looked at Amethyst with a look of shock, as if the shorter Gem had just killed someone, "Wait, what!?"

"Steven's been going through a lot, you know? After all the pressure and fighting and stuff, he might need a little time to himself."

"Okay, that makes more sense, but I'm not sure how I feel about him growing at this rate. Over a few weeks was one thing but this? And he wants to get even bigger?!"

"Exactly what he said," confirmed Jasper, "Are you done whining now? If you have so much of a problem with it, go yell at him yourself."

"No," insisted Garnet, "Steven needs to be able to make decisions like this on his own."

"Garnet, seriously?!" demanded Pearl, "Something's clearly wrong here!"

"I don't see it that way. While he's a bit of a showboat, he clearly has good intentions in mind."

"I understand what you're saying Garnet but-"

"Trust me, I think it's strange to see but this will all pass. He'll turn himself around soon enough."

Pearl looked skeptical, then said, "Alright. Still… I have a bad feeling about this…"

* * *

As skeptical as many of the Crystal Gems were, they followed Garnet's word and let Steven's new routine play out. It turns out the boy was telling the truth that he only came back at night as he walked inside that same evening and bid everyone goodnight. While many were gobsmacked by how much he bulked up in such a short timespan, he seemed mostly normal otherwise minus his newfound resistance to shirts. When Amethyst caught him leaving just after dawn the next day, he chatted with her for a bit before heading out. While she confirmed he was very proud of his muscles, she believed he was still good at heart.

Over time his further training results began to yield even FURTHER results. In only a few days, his body seemed to be composed of nothing but muscles on top of the fact that he was now the tallest of the Crystal Gems. He even began to look at his physique in the mirror on occasion where he would brag to himself and pose trying to make his massive biceps and pecs look bigger still.

"Heh-heh," he said one time, "Solid as a rock and even tougher!"

When he was not honing his body to even higher levels of strength, he was busy around Beach City helping anyone he could. Helping tourists with flat tires, picking up stray litter and any other task that allowed him to demonstrate his ever-increasing abilities. The only exception to this was when he walked the streets and happily took in the gasps and turned heads everyone gave him as he moved. Being literally twice the size of many bystanders did not seem to phase him, however, nor did the occasional person moving to the other side of the street. He even took some pride in the fact that he was turning some heads even smirking at himself before running at lightning-speed back to his training spot to fulfill his fix for the day. To him, he was only getting better and better.

As time passed, the training results kept coming. His body only seemed capable of growing more and more to the point where he surpassed any human physique. His massive feet left some slight indents on any ground he walked on. Just pushing his massive hand on a brick wall was enough to potentially make it fall over. He was half-tempted to jump off the massive cliff above the temple without his bubble or shield to see if his diamond-hard muscles would even feel any pain. He began to show off more often. Gone were the days where he would walk into town. Now he would leap in from hundreds of feet away in a single jump in order to relish the looks of shock and awe he got from whatever people saw him. While he was diligent enough to never collide with any buildings or pedestrians, he did not seem to mind the massive spider web of cracks his landings would create, luckily not on the actual roads or sidewalks. Once the dust settled, though, he would actively invite anyone watching to give him a task to show off his abilities no matter how outlandish. For some it was chores they needed, like moving furniture and cleaning which he would finish in literal seconds. Other times it dares such as breaking a cinder block with one finger or running on water. The only thing that remained unchanged was him returning after dark aside from how he needed to squeeze more and more in order to fit through the door. The Crystal Gems were gradually becoming more and more unnerved not only at how massive their ward was getting, but in how much cockiness he was projecting. Even when talking to them, he casually boasted about how impressive his body was, how Red Diamond should surrender at this point and how even they could not beat him now. The only thing that upset them more was how he never noticed how any of these comments made them feel. He even began to flex and pose for the mirror more often to the point where it became the first thing he did every morning and the last thing he did before falling asleep.

* * *

The whole routine only changed one morning where Connie walked in. Despite the early hour, she seemed wide awake and it was not from a restful night. The girl had been trying for over a week now to reach Steven only to be met with no response to any of her texts or calls. She even tried asking Pearl about it, only to hear the vague response that Steven was "on break" from missions and thus to leave him alone. While she understood at first after hearing about the mission on Red Diamond's station, now she began to feel insulted. All this time off and he could not even talk to her?

She entered the temple to find Pearl there. "Hey Pearl!" she called out, greeting her former mentor.

"Ack, Connie!" Pearl was shocked to see Connie visit so suddenly.

"Sorry, but I need to talk to Steven. I'm getting seriously worried about him! Last time I saw him, he looked like a quarterback."

"You… haven't seen him at all? Not even once?"

"No…" Connie confirmed, not liking how Pearl was visibly tense, "What's going on?"

Suddenly, the two heard an audible, stomping sound coming from upstairs as the whole house shook slightly. "Pearl what was that!?" Connie asked in shock.

"Um…" Pearl could not bring herself to actually answer Connie's question. The stomps grew even louder as a deep voice seemed to speak from upstairs.

"Alright, handsome, see you tonight!" The stomps kept coming as two muscular legs thicker than Connie's entire body moved into view.

"What the-!?" the young girl said in shock. Her feelings only worsened as the legs were followed by a pair of short-shorts that somehow fit around the massive quads and sat under a shirtless torso with a dozen abs and pectorals that resembled large slabs of steel more than flesh. She ignored the equally gigantic arms that looked like they could snap a telephone pole in half and rested on his smirking face that only vaguely resembled her best friend.

"STEVEN!?" shrieked Connie in absolute shock.

"Oh, hey, Connie," Steven said, still with an arrogant expression on his face, "Sup?"

"I… I…" she stammered, her brain shorting out at what she was looking at.

"Heh, speechless? Trust me, that happens all the time," he flaunted, "You wanna watch me work out?"

"Work… out?" she stuttered.

"Yeah. Perfection like this doesn't come easy, but boy is it worth it!" He then flexed his gigantic arms, reveling in the power he could feel in his tensing biceps.

"I have to be dreaming…"

"Nope, I'm just that great! Now what do you think is better to start today with: climbing a mountain one-handed or with only my feet?"

Connie made a look of disbelief in reaction to Steven's blatantly weird question.

"No, I got it," he suddenly said, "I'll climb up with one hand and then climb down with the feet!"

"That's it," Connie deadpanned, "I'm done." She proceeded to walk out the door, much to Steven's disbelief.

No one had ever just walked away from him when he was like this. "Hey!" he said in shock, "Where are you going!?"

"Back to bed!" she announced while slamming the door.

"Oh dear…" moaned Pearl, "I had a hunch she wouldn't take this well."

"What?!" gaped Steven, "What did I do?"

The matronly gem just rolled her eyes and walked to her room in the temple, half-tempted to barge in on Garnet and tell her how this whole plan was derailing. Seeing both of them leave, Steven ended up following Connie outdoors and quickly spotted her heading up the beach. It only took him a second to catch up to her, but he noticed she did not even flinch when he all but teleported right in front of her.

"Steven, just stop," she groaned, "I don't wanna fuel your ego trip."

"Ego trip?" Steven asked, partially oblivious, "I'm just being me."

"No," Connie said rather flatly, "You're acting way too full of yourself! You're making Jasper look modest."

"Not that hard when I'm way stronger than her."

Seeing she was getting nowhere, Connie face-palmed and just kept walking. This annoyed Steven to the point where he jumped in front of her to cut her off again.

"What's your problem?" he asked, "Can't you just be happy for me?"

"HAPPY?! You want me to be happy that you've turned yourself into an egotistical jerk with so much muscle that it's completely clogged your brain?! Get a grip!"

"HEY! I worked hard for this bod!"

"Yeah, a whole week and change. Steven, my dad has co-workers who are into fitness. I show them your body and I'm pretty sure all of them would quit."

"Not my fault they can't keep up," he shrugged.

"'Keep up?!' You're half ALIEN!"

"Exactly! That means I'm just better by default!"

"Oh boy…" Connie groaned rubbing her head, "Do you even hear yourself? I'm pretty sure Kevin would be telling you to tone it down if he didn't get a reality check. Something you desperately need right now."

"Yeah right…"

"You know, if you're training to fight Red Diamond, why don't you just go after her?"

"Huh?"

"If you're so super amazingly impossibly ripped that you can climb a mountain with one hand, why not just find her base and beat her already?"

Rather than stop and ponder this, the titanic half-gem just shrugged it off. "I don't feel like it."

"I'm sorry, WHAT?!"

"I mean, come on, I know I can take whatever she throws at me now. Why go looking for trouble when I could be spending time making more of this happen?" He then pointed down to his rippling muscles.

"So, you're just gonna do this forever?!"

"Nah. Eventually Red Diamond's gonna get bored and send some more cronies here and then I'll beat them up. Then she'll try coming down herself and then I kick her butt and then we all win. It's the perfect plan!"

Now Connie could feel her head pounding as she tried to process that logic. "And what if she never does? She probably has thousands of troops, maybe even millions."

"Quality like this beat quantity!" Steven stated proudly, bouncing his immense pecs for good measure.

"UGH! You're impossible!" Connie stated angrily at the person who was supposed to be her best friend.

"I'm impossible? You're the one blowing up over nothing!"

"It's not nothing! It's that the super nice, awesome best friend I've had the best times of my life with has turned into a complete jerk who can't see past his own pecs! I'm worried about you, Steven! This isn't natural even for you! Who knows what'll happen if you bulk up even more?!"

"Connie…" Steven said, "I'm telling you I'm fine. I feel great, I look even better and I promise I'll go back to doing missions."

"When?" she demanded, "I don't want you blowing me off and then turning yourself into even more of a monster."

Steven looked at her. For a few seconds, the arrogant facade faded into a small, simple smile as he said to his friend, "Alright, I promise that no matter what I do, nothing bad will happen to me. I won't go off the deep end."

Connie felt immensely relieved to see this, but she still felt uneasy. "Alright… I'm going home now, but I want to hear from you soon. Maybe you should spend your time doing something else?"

"I'll think about that…"

"You know, it sounds to me like you aren't spending much time with the other Crystal Gems. Maybe just hang out with them?"

"Hey, that's a pretty good idea!"

"Cool. Seriously, though, the sun just came up and I want more sleep but I hope you're feeling better."

Steven smiled and said, "Alright. I'll see you later Connie. Take care."

"You too Steven. Bye," then Connie, now smiling a bit, headed back home to sleep some more. That left the massive boy alone on the beach with a new idea in his head. He then flew off to his normal spot for a much shorter workout than normal. Now it would just be a warm-up for what he wanted to do with the other Crystal Gems.

* * *

"Garnet, this is getting ridiculous!" said Pearl. When Garnet did not seem to react and kept meditating in front of the lava pool of the Burning Room, she pressed on.

"He's even talking down to Connie at this point! And that's not getting into the fact he's about ready to bust the wall down just to leave the house!"

"Pearl…" sighed Garnet, "I get it. I'll admit the changes are pretty shocking, but we need to be patient.

"Patient? Garnet, I don't want to say it but… Steven is…"

"I understand, Pearl. But still, we must be patient. He's not a little kid anymore."

"You can say that again… Have you actually seen him recently?"

"No," admitted Garnet, "But he's yet to hurt anyone despite how powerful he's getting and he clearly intends to use it to stop Red Diamond."

"There you guys are!" said Amethyst from the door, "I've been looking all over you."

"What is it, Amethyst?" Pearl asked.

"Did anyone see Steven's bed is busted?"

"You can't be serious," said Garnet.

"Nope, broke clean in half. I mean, I love wrecking stuff, but I'm pretty sure he did that."

"See what I mean?" insisted Pearl, "His strength has gotten to the point where he's demolishing things in his sleep!"

"Okay, maybe this is getting out of hand," admitted the fusion.

"Guys?" said a booming voice from the house, "Are you in the temple?"

"Steven?" called Pearl as she came out into the main room, "What are you doing here? It's the middle of the day."

The other gems followed suit and Amethyst and Garnet finally got to see the new Steven towering over both of them. Pearl was even more shocked since she could tell he was even bigger than when he left this morning. While not another explosion of growth, he was a few inches taller and even more buff everywhere else. "S-Steven?" Pearl asked, pure shock in her voice.

Steven simply looked at the three and said, "... I wanna spar. With you guys."

All of them just stared at him for a moment before Amethyst broke the silence. "Why?"

"Because Connie and I… kind of had a fight and she said I should be doing something different with my time. Plus, I really want to see how I do now." He had a serious smile on his face rather than the arrogant smirk he had for the past few days.

"Uh…" said Amethyst, "I'm not sure that's a good idea."

"Steven…" said Pearl, "I'm not sure how to say this, but I think Amethyst has something of a point. You seem to have a problem controlling your power and-"

"I'm in," said Garnet confidently, much to the other two's shock and Steven's enjoyment. "You'll never learn how your powers work on your own all the time."

"Thanks!" said the boy with an eager smile, bringing more flashes of the old Steven back that made Amethyst and Pearl rethink their refusals.

* * *

"... Alright," Pearl said, "But we should probably go somewhere safe. And stable."

"Hmm…" thought Amethyst, "How about the field where the barn used to be?"

"Sounds good to me!" said Steven.

* * *

Later Steven, Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl were on the outskirts of Beach City. They had passed Peridot and Lapis's new home on the way, but made sure to head far past it to avoid any collateral damage. Eventually they made it to a large open field a few miles away from the Prime Kindergarten.

"Okay," Garnet said, "We should be fine here."

"Alright now, Steven," advised Pearl, "If you ever get overwhelmed at any point, just say so and we'll stop."

"Trust me, I'll be fine," Steven said, smiling at his family.

"Heh," Amethyst said nervously to Pearl, "I don't think it's Steven we should worry about, P…" Steven did not seem to hear her as he raised his fists and stood opposite the three veteran Crystal Gems, clearly raring to go. With one final look at each other, the trio summoned their weapons and leapt ahead to see just how much Steven's power grew along with him.

Steven then had a mixture of a serious face and an arrogant smirk as the fight began. He stood still as the three headed towards him before throwing out a straight fist. While he had three targets, his arms carried so much power that it actually pushed all of them back from the force.

"Whoa…" gaped Steven, staring at his own arm. He was not even using his strength to the fullest.

"Okay, that doesn't even make sense," groaned Amethyst, trying to stand up as the three were scattered from the blow.

"Actually, it makes too much sense," countered Pearl, "His muscles carry so much power that it made a shockwave when he moved so fast. That means just blocking attacks is nearly impossible."

Steven looked at his hand in renewed surprise upon this, "Whoa… This is awesome!"

"Don't get overconfident," said Garnet. She then whispered something to Pearl and Amethyst and soon they went at him in a pincer formation. The fusion came from the left while the other two dashed in from the right. Rather than be worried, Steven was more excited than ever to see what he could do. He turned to the left and met Garnet head on, grabbing both of her arms and stopping her dead in her tracks. When he heard Pearl and Amethyst still coming from behind him, he kicked both of his legs into the air to send them flying backwards. While Garnet was shocked, her surprise grew when he used the kick as leverage to somersault over her and then send a crushing kick to her back that sent her tumbling away as well.

Seeing the three down on the ground for the second time in only a minute caused Steven's ego to flare up even more. "Hahaha! I'm amazing! I could do this all day!"

And from that point, what was supposed to be a sparring match between three seasoned guardians and their young ward turned into a continual demonstration of Steven's powers as he utterly dominated the Crystal Gems. Garnet found out she was truly outclassed in strength in every encounter, Pearl's agility and strategy were useless when he tanked everything she threw at him and Amethyst's attempts to restrain him and throw him off were met with several broken whips and being chucked around like a football. All the while, Steven never broke a sweat as the titanic half-gem's punches and kicks never wavered. Every block sent out shockwaves that sent them sprawling and any hits he did take only registered as a mild poke against the immovable wall of muscle that made up his entire body. "Heh-Heh-Heh," he said, smirking with arrogance and overconfidence, "Is that it? Is that all you got!?"

"Anyone else's patience running really thin?" Pearl said through her grinding teeth.

"Mine's already gone," growled Amethyst, "Just like all the feeling in my legs."

"This…" said Garnet, "...Has gone on for way too long. Pearl, you were right. We need to stop this."

"You don't mean…"

"Not quite. One last try, give it everything you've got, but if it doesn't work…"

The three nodded grimly as they made one final push. Their determination did not affect Steven, however, as he started flexing to pass the time until they reached him. Only a second before Amethyst could lash him, the boy appeared behind her and slammed his elbows into her back hard enough to make a crater several feet deep. Pearl was about to strike with her spear, but he kicked her legs out from under her with enough force to send her spiraling hundreds of feet into the air before crashing back to Earth. Garnet then got inches away from his face and was about to sucker-punch him right in his gem, only to be knocked away so fast she literally had no idea what hit her.

As she slowly got up, Steven let out a proud, arrogant laugh, "Come on! This is almost too easy!"

Between their beaten bodies and being completely fed up with Steven's attitude, they decided the boy needed a serious lesson. The three ran towards each other and just before they collided, their bodies changed into blobs of light that swirled together and grew exponentially until a glowering being stood over Steven. The six armed giant woman crossed all three sets of her arms that ranged from dark green to purple to magenta. Her massive head of green hair billowed in the wind as she stared down at him with seven eyes hidden behind a pair of bright orange shades.

"Young man," the massive fusion, named Alexandrite bristled, "You need to learn your place."

"I could say the same thing about you," he boasted back, not intimidated in the least, "But I'm glad you're here. It'd be more entertaining than just kicking the other three around some more."

He started slowly circling around the enormous fusion and continued bragging, "I know fusion is supposed to make you better, but you know what I see? A bigger target to hit! I've still got plenty of energy to spare to-!"

The cocky hybrid didn't finish his taunt as his opponent wasted no time in knocking him back by several meters with a brutal punch! When Steven eventually stopped in the ditch his body made, he felt actual pain all along his skin as several small cuts were made. In an instant, all of his cockiness changed into anger. "Okay, that's it!"

He leapt into the air at supersonic speeds and flew right into Alexandrite's stomach, sending her toppling before jumping hundreds of feet into the air and tried stomping her into oblivion. She easily sidestepped out of the way only to deal a devastating counter kick against her opponent. This time he was able to stop himself from crashing to the ground, but he still skidded away for several dozen feet. Once he was back up, he was seeing red as met Alexandrite head on. Despite being much smaller and having fewer limbs than his opponent, Steven managed to hold his own thanks to his own absurdly high strength. Every blow made the ground quake and the trees miles away nearly fell over thanks to the hurricane-level winds kicked up by their blistering speed. If anyone tried to get between them at this point, they would be crushed in an instant. Both of the combatants felt this same sense of pressure as they pressed on and on, their hands sounding like thunderclaps as their fisticuffs flew until both of them jumped away from each other and finally gave their arms a moment to rest. Alexandrite was as impassable as ever, but Steven's patience was now being tested as he felt his arms throb from the exertion. This was the first time anything managed to even tire him out! To make things worse, Alexandrite summoned Opal's bow and aimed a massive energy arrow at him. The boy was half-tempted to tank the hit, but ended up running at hyper speed away from a barrage of arrows that she fired. He tried launching himself back at her but one swing of Sardonyx's hammer sent him flying miles away. Before he could get back him from his unwanted trip, the titanic fusion was already on top of him with Sugilite's flail ready to crush him into the dirt. He held up both his arms to catch the wrecking ball, but the impact made his arms burn like never before. The weapon was lifted off of him, but only for a minute as she flattened him with it again. By the sixth time she did it, Steven's entire body felt like limp meat and he could only groan as the fusion looked over him.

"I'm sorry," she said, "But you needed this. All that power won't do you any good if you don't know how to use it properly."

Steven looked at the fusion for a good, long second. Then…

"Alright… you win… you're right."

Alexandrite smiled before splitting back into her three components. The Crystal Gems watched Steven slowly pick himself up and pull himself out of the hole. He stared down at his guardians with more shame than any of them had ever seen out of him recently.

"I know what I've got to do now," he said, before turning away from them, "I've got to train even harder."

The three all looked confused. "What do you mean, 'even harder?'" asked Pearl.

"I mean if I can't beat Alexandrite, how am I supposed to beat Red Diamond? I've been spending a lot of my break goofing off either in town or at home. If I'm gonna get even better than this, I need to take it seriously.

"Whoa, hold up," warned Amethyst, clearly not liking where this was going, "Dude, I think you've gotten ripped enough. That's definitely not the problem."

"The problem is your attitude," confirmed Pearl, "Just assuming you're better than everyone else doesn't improve anything."

"And you guys are right! Messing around being a show-off isn't gonna get me anywhere. I need to redouble my efforts and really push myself."

"Steven, listen to us," insisted Garnet, "What you need is balance. You need to take it easier, not go completely overboard."

"I'm doing this to get better to protect you!" he yelled, his temper coming back with a vengeance, "Red Diamond's not gonna stop so why should I?! Otherwise you'll all just get blown up!"

"Steven, stop it!" pleaded Pearl, "We're not defenseless! We have each other, the hundreds of other Crystal Gems back at home and even four other Diamonds who all want to look out for you."

"I can defend myself!" the hybrid yelled with force . And with that he began to storm off, heading to the nearby wilderness.

"Steven!" Pearl called out to the angry hybrid. She tried to run after him, but suddenly, a small pink barrier blocked her path.

"I'm not coming back until I'm the strongest thing in the world!" he yelled before running completely out of sight.

"Aw man, this is really bad!" fretted Amethyst, "We're gonna need a search party for him or something!"

"You're absolutely right," agreed Pearl, "I better go call the other Diamonds so they can pitch in and-"

"That's not gonna work," argued Garnet sadly, "Find him and he'll just move again."

"So… what are we gonna do!?" Amethyst asked with worry and some panic, "He's starting to lose it!"

"I… don't know."

"So now what?!" shrieked Pearl, "We just wait until Steven brings himself home and he's outgrown the house?! Who knows if he'll even survive out there on his own?"

"I don't doubt that thanks to his time with Jasper," answered the fusion, "What I'm worried about is how much worse his personality is going to get."

* * *

A few minutes later, Steven was at a large mountainside, far away from the other gems and any sense of civilization. He was livid. "Grr… who do they think they are!?" he shouted, "I don't need them! The only reason they beat me is fusion!"

Even after the beating he took from Alexandrite and the massive run he took, his body felt more energized than ever. He could practically feel his muscles itching to grow and work and he now had every intention to use them.

"I won't let anyone hurt Earth. I'll train 24/7 to be the strongest and then Red Diamond won't hurt me or anyone ever again!"

He then looked at the open field, nearby woods, and the few mountains before him and let out an arrogant smile, "Yeah… that's exactly what I'm going to do."

* * *

After a bit of mental preparation so that he can go on without sleep, he then began to really train. If at any point he felt tired, he would remember Red Diamond. Anything about her from her twisted experiments to her casually threatening her family snapped him back to attention and he planned to let nothing deter him now.

Right from the first moment, he began to train hard. He used some huge boulders nearby as some weights and began to lift them around. He only truly stopped when they were smashed into rubble from one too many uses. As he collected more, he also began to do some air punches every now and then for good measure then fists making some faint sonic booms every now and then. He wanted every second to be dedicated to working some part of his body and maximize his time.

Even as the night fell, he kept punching and kicking the side of a mountain, focusing his strength into each and every individual blow. The ground shook with each hit dealt, but he never noticed. All he could think about was doing the same to Red Diamond. This kept him going straight until dawn where he moved on to leaping as high as possible with several fallen trees slung over his shoulders, his powers protecting him from his lack of sleep the whole time.

This routine was repeated each and every day, during which Steven's only thought was getting stronger… His body seemed to have no limit to how much muscle mass and height it could gain. He would end each day taller and buffer than the one before until the only way to describe him was monstrous. His arms became thicker than even the sturdiest trees in any forest and more than capable of downing any of them with a tap of his finger. His legs had grown strong enough that he could create small-scale earthquakes by stomping hard enough. His torso was a literal wall of muscle that should have been impossible to move with so much density packed into it and yet Steven was still as limber as when he was a fraction of his size.

He once stopped to take a look at his bigger body. He was initially impressed, but then stopped when he remembered his defeat at the hands of Alexandrite. He then began to redouble his already extreme efforts! Soon he ended up surpassing the fusion who defeated him in height, but that was only part of it. Biceps bigger than the same boulders he once used as weights, pectorals as tall as houses, more abs than he could care to count and the rest of his form being just as oversized. Despite being only half-Diamond, Steven looked entirely alien, yet he did not even notice. All he could think about was getting stronger.

* * *

Later on, the Gems were looking around for Steven, searching in the general direction he was running off too. As they were looking at a few thickets of trees, Amethyst called out to the others, "Yo guys, check this out!" Garnet and Pearl came through to see several large holes in the ground where it looked like trees had been uprooted. There were also several distinctly human footprints of varying sizes.

"Steven?" Pearl thought aloud.

"We're close," Garnet said in a simple tone.

"You're kidding, right?" said Amethyst, "Are you sure this isn't another corrupted gem monster?"

"I wish…"

"I don't want to see it either," Pearl lamented, "But it's obvious now he isn't coming home on his own at this rate. It's been a full week."

"You don't think we need some back-up?" offered Amethyst, "I mean, everyone back home has been losing it over where he is. We can't just shove them off forever."

"I know and I hate how they act. Nephrite almost walked in on us talking about him once and she looked heartbroken when we couldn't give her a straight answer."

Before they could discuss further, their attention was taken by the surrounding area. Tens of thousands of pebbles littered a rocky plain for miles with more footprints and several scattered trees littering the ground. "Whoa…" Amethyst said, "This place really took some damage…"

"Just where is he?" wondered Pearl, "Unless he also developed camouflage at this point."

"Who knows by now," said Garnet, "I just know this is going to be anything but easy."

And then, as if to confirm her point, an utterly gigantic hunk of rock several stories tall and even wider around crashed down only a few feet away from them like a meteorite.

"What the heck!?" exclaimed a startled Pearl. Then a few seconds later, the three began to run in the direction the stone came from. As they ran forward, they felt the ground shake periodically and the sound of more stones crashing.

They then found themselves on the side of the mountain they were on looking down into a massive forest several hundred feet below. But what drew their attention was not any of the local flora. It was Steven. The hybrid now sood far taller than any of the trees around him as was currently demolishing dozens of them at a time. As if that was not easy when he was now over a hundred feet tall, his muscles swelled to utterly ridiculous proportions with him. Each arm was bigger than the massive statue that made up the temple and had more than enough power to smash into rubble with a single swing. His towering legs caused tremors with each step and ended at feet wider than city streets. These four enormous limbs were connected by a torso filled to the brim with enough muscle to stop anything save for a galaxy-wide explosion. From their vantage point, none of the Crystal Gems noticed that the only clothing on him was a massive crude loincloth made of vines and leaves made by his latent plant abilities. They also missed his fingernails and toenails now resembling sharp claws, his teeth having changed into pointed fangs or the starting signs of two curved horns growing out of his enlarged forehead.

"Oh my… Steven!?" Pearl was the first to speak, or rather, freak out.

Steven then looked up and saw the three gems. He then almost immediately gave them a big, toothy grin. The sight of his changed teeth made the gems cringe.

"Hey guys!" he said in an oddly cheerful tone that came off as unusual given the circumstances.

"Pearl, I'm sorry," whispered Garnet, "Next time Steven goes on break, I'm listening to you."

"Appreciated, but we've much bigger problems now," retorted the gem before speaking to her anything but little ward, "Steven? How do you feel?"

He let out a light chuckle, then said in a more arrogant tone, "You can see the results yourself!" He then did a pose, flexing his extremely powerful arms.

"Yeah, good going bud," chuckled Amethyst awkwardly, "But uh… you gonna be done anytime soon?"

"What do you mean, 'done?'"

"Steven, this has gotten WAY out of hand," said Garnet, "Look at yourself. This is so beyond unnatural and overboard that it's sickening."

"Says you," he rebuffed, "If you're done, I'm going back to work." Steven then turned away from them, tearing up dozens of trees and scaring every bird for several miles away.

"Oh no you don't!" shouted Pearl, "This has gone on far too long already!"

"No way! I can still get even stronger!"

This shocked and mortified the three gems as Steven merely continued to train right before their eyes. And they could actually watch his muscles grow slightly with every move he made. They tried calling and yelling to him, but now he was deliberately ignoring them to focus on his training, once again oblivious to the changes going on. After another fifteen minutes he was already several feet taller and wider along with the horns on his head growing more prominent, becoming sharper as well.

At this point the gems truly had enough, "STEVEN!" yelled Garnet, now irate,"You need to stop this now!"

"Man, look at yourself!" pleaded Amethyst, "I mean really, fanged teeth?! That's just overkill!"

"Steven, we can't stand seeing you do this!" cried Pearl, "You don't need to abandon everything you've believed in for this!"

That actually made the young colossus take pause. Seeing that she finally regained his attention, Pearl continued.

"You're powers aren't all there is to you! You're a wonderful, kind, empathetic soul just like your mother! You see the best in everyone and now you're going to throw it all away for some muscles?! Anyone can do that!"

"She's right!" added Garnet, "All Red Diamond cares about is power! If you do this to yourself, you're no better than her!"

Each of these words seemed to get to him. At first. It seemed like Steven was going to let his overclocked power go to his head. But instead, he saw something else.

Standing just behind the Gems… was his mother.

He stood there wide-eyed as he truly saw what appeared to be Pink Diamond, as Rose, standing before him. She looked at him for a split second, then shook her head, as if to disapprove of what she was seeing. Then, the illusion vanished…

Steven stood there, shocked at what he saw… then he realized… Garnet was right!

This wasn't him, it never was! He was letting EVERYTHING get to him, changing his mind for the worse!

Distraught by this, his face fell into an expression of sadness, "... … … Okay…"

Then a bright, pink glow emanated from him, nearly blinding the valley was filled with the glow. It wore off a few seconds later and there before them stood Steven back to his initial size and build when this all started, only now he was glowing pink. In no time at all, the three gems rushed over to him and hugged him out of relief.

Steven, however, was anything but relieved and looked sad instead. "I'm… I'm sorry… I…"

"We know," said Garnet, "We've all gotten a little lost before."

"And for us," added Amethyst, "It took a lot longer than a few weeks. You're actually pretty lucky."

"All that matters is that you've found your way in the end," Pearl concluded.

Steven however, still had a few doubts. He looked down and saw his pink hands. Then he said, "I guess… but… I think I'm still trying to find my way… Guys… I'm sorry but… can we go home now… please?"

"Of course," answered Pearl, "We've already replaced your bed and everything."

And with that, the four headed home with Steven trying to ignore all the damage he brought on the mountainside as much as possible.


	25. Chapter 25

**Chapter 25: Play Time**

Steven was currently in a location similar to outer-space. He remembered falling asleep and thus quickly realized this was the mindscape within this gemstone! He was currently looking at his mother, who was giving him a look of worry. Steven himself looked a bit nervous…

Then, Rose simply said, "Do you want to talk about it?"

Steven sighed… he then said, "I… I don't know…"

"I know it's a bit late for me to act like a mother, but I know a bit about what you're going through. Feeling inadequate, unsure of how to handle life, disappointing someone you love…"

"Are… you reading my mind?" While that got a chuckle out of her, she shook her head.

"Technically no, but I have seen all of this and it reminded me of how I was when my rebellion began. I felt all this pressure to live up to everyone and I… wasn't exactly a flawless leader."

Steven gave a weak nod in understanding; he knew the risks his mother took in her double-life. "How… How were you able to cope?"

"Kindness," she replied in a simple tone, "Understanding, from both myself and others. But also, patience." Rose then paused for a second, then she proceeded, "Internal problems don't always get solved overnight. It takes time and work."

"Oh…" Steven looked nervous for a sec.

"And another thing? You don't have to solve everything alone. As much as the Crystal gems looked up to me, I needed them just as much. Not just to fight, but to remind me why I needed to succeed. Every time I saw them happy from whatever battle or sacrifice, I made it worth it that day and I kept telling myself this until we finally won."

"That doesn't sound easy…"

"And yet I have every reason to believe you can do it. You've already beaten me to ending the fight with Homeworld and you did it while barely raising a fist. If anyone can find a way to stop all this, it's you."

"Thanks, Mom," he said gratefully as the black void around him began to change to white. He then looked down at his body with it being in its original state before his workout binge and had a thought. He then smiled, saying, "Hey, Mom? I like the present you got for me, and I don't want to sound ungrateful but..."

"Hm?"

"Do you think… I could go back to my old look please?" he asked politely, "Y'know, before I got poofed."

Rose thought of it for a second, then she said, "Sure, Steven whatever makes you feel comfortable. I let your form slip back to something more familiar. Besides, I'm pretty sure Connie already found you pretty attractive before the growth spurt!"

For the first time in his life, Steven caught on to the type of suggestion implied and began to blush madly, "Moooom!"

This made Rose giggle a bit, "Oh, don't mind me, just rambling." She then gave off another giggle as Steven had a hunch that she wasn't just rambling.

"Alright then," Rose said, "I'll see you in the future. Good luck…"

* * *

In his bedroom, Steven's form began to glow, and not subtly in a way that made his body appear pink, but rather his form turned into light for a split second, changing shape in his sleep. As the sun began to rise, Steven's physical form finished reconfiguring itself, translating to a more familiar appearance. Eventually, the glow faded away and the young hybrid began to come to.

Steven woke up with a slight yawn and slowly got up from his bed. He then walked over to his mirror and saw a familiar sight…

His appearance was back to square one, just as he wanted. He now looked a few years older than his actual age with being almost as tall as his father. He had the same chubby cheeks from before his first encounter with Red Pearl, along with his curly hair, and normal eyes. To him, it reminded him of his 14th birthday where he tried to use shapeshifting to stretch himself taller and older. Only this time, this taller form _was_ his normal appearance now. All in all, this made him smile. He went over to his dresser and rummaged around the clothes inside until he found a look that fit his new body well. He now wore a black t-shirt with the same yellow star as his old outfit but now with a pink jacket over it. He still wore a pair of dark pink sandals and cropped blue jeans, but now in a larger size. He looked in the mirror at his new look and gave himself a playful wink. The old Steven was back.

* * *

He then began to walk downstairs where Pearl was making a simple pancake breakfast. "Mm… Something smells good!" Steven stated, getting Pearl's attention.

"Well, it looks like someone's ready for the day!" she said happily, "And it looks like you've changed shape again! Feeling alright?"

"Yeah, I don't think we're gonna have another birthday problem," he chuckled while heading downstairs to the kitchen island, "You like it?"

"Do you like it?"

"Yeah, I do. It feels pretty natural."

"Then that's all that matters." Pearl then served his breakfast and he happily dug into the plate in front of him.

* * *

Later, he decided to go and see Connie, texting her that he was in town and would like to hang out for a bit after the craziness that was happening the past few weeks. Speaking of which…

The townspeople who noticed Steven were quite receptive to him sporting this new, more classic look again. Gone was the overly arrogant musclehead and back was the child they knew and loved. As he waited by the Big Donut for her to arrive, he enjoyed the calm atmosphere of his hometown until Connie ran up to see him.

"Now this look," she said cheerfully, "I can go with. You sure you don't wanna do a few hundred push-ups?"

"Believe me, I'm gonna hold off on doing anything like that," Steven said with a simple grin. The two then shared a laugh as they then walked down the sidewalk together, heading to a nearby boardwalk.

Eventually, the two began to chat about recent events and that included the chat with his mother. When he got to her last comment about her, Steven blushed and figured she would do the same. Instead, she dropped to the ground from laughing her head off.

"It's not funny, Connie!" Steven demanded, his entire face bright red, "It was totally humiliating!"

"Exactly! Now you know what it feels like! That's what you get for laughing at me when my parents did it!"

"People are staring…"

"Oh, wait, I know! Let's get her out here so she can tell stories of when you were a kid! You said she's seen everything, right?"

At that point Steven could not even! "Connie!" He then covered his face in sheer embarrassment. It was actually surprising that he hasn't begun to glow pink again from the shame.

"Alright, sorry, but I couldn't help it! Let's just agree that our parents are equally embarrassing and have fun."

"Y-Yeah, that sounds like a good idea," Steven said, giving off a sheepish grin…

* * *

Later the two were passing by the streets after a fun few hours touring the boardwalk and made their way down the main town streets up to a very familiar building. It was Jamie's acting studio and they quickly noticed the line of people going out the door.

"Wow, looks like Jamie's place is starting to trend!" Connie stated.

"Yeah!" Steven added in agreement, "Let's check it out!"

Once they managed to get inside the building, they soon found the thespian turned teacher Jamie standing on a stage with over a dozen people crowded around the base.

"I would like to thank you all for attending today. The first production in Jamie's School of Theater Showmanship is fast approaching and I cannot be more excited. It took a fair amount of effort to get here, but seeing all of you hopefuls re-energizes me! While some of you have taken formal lessons here, others are new faces and all of you are welcome to display your abilities here! However, the first rule of the stage is that rejection is a reality. I cannot count how many refusals I faced in my short career," Steven nodded in acknowledgement as Jamie continued, "But what's important is not how many rejections you get, it's how much the stage calls to you. Many get dejected and flee to other careers, but those who persevere will find everything they've ever wanted. Acting is a labor of love that is immensely rewarding, personally gratifying and brings untold joy to anyone who seeks entertainment."

The thespian hopped off the stage and walked right in front of the enamored audience. "Now then, who's ready to start the path that could change their lives?!"

* * *

Much to the friends' surprise, Jamie instead revealed that the audition would be later that day and instead began one of his classes. Fortunately, the class was actually pretty fun and everyone enjoyed themselves. About an hour later when everyone was leaving. Connie and Steven stayed behind, the former calling out to him, "Hey, Jamie!"

"Hm?" Jamie looked and saw Steven, "Steven? Is that really you!"

"Yup! It's me!" the young hybrid said cheerfully, "I went with a more classic look."

"Ah, many a performer has changed their appearance for the role. Whatever suits you in life is your choice."

"Thanks. Anyway, I can't believe how much there is to know about the history of theater props!"

"Yes, this school encourages everyone to find their role in the arts. For some it is in performing and for others their calling is backstage. After all, actors would be nothing without the staff necessary to run a production smoothly."

"That's really nice to hear," said Connie, "But something's been on my mind while we were here. Your play. How's it been coming along?"

"Fantastically! The premiere date is only a few weeks away, tickets are going on sale now, we have a livestream planned to draw in more people, but there is one problem."

"What's that?" asked both of the younger teens.

"I need you all to get Lapis Lazuli in here."

"What!?" Steven was shocked, "But I thought she was up for the role as the female lead!"

"Well, I haven't been able to contact her since and she never came back so I tried casting someone else for the princess and yet… I couldn't find anyone. A few girls even painted themselves blue to try and mimic her more, but that just felt desperate. Not to mention the wardrobe department would've mutinied at that point…"

"Don't worry, Jamie," said Connie, "I'm sure Lapis would be more than happy to act for you."

"Yeah!" agreed Steven, "She said the last time was tons of fun last time!"

* * *

"No," said Lapis flatly, much to Steven and Connie's shock. Both of them went straight to the temple after talking with Jamie and now their plan was kaput.

"But why not?" asked Connie, "You were pretty excited when you first joined up."

"This'll be exactly like last time! Just longer and with an audience and-" Steven started, but then the gem interrupted him.

"Yeah and the audience is the problem. Doing it with just you guys was one thing. But in front of dozens or even hundreds of people? Forget it."

The teens were both in a state of disbelief. The gem was about to walk away from them, but they knew that Jamie would not take the rejection well.

"Wait!" called Steven, "We can work something out! Maybe you only do the first night?"

"No," refuted the gem but Connie would not let up either.

"We'll pay you double your salary!"

"I did the first one for free! Plus I don't use money…"

"Private dressing room?" tempted Steven.

"No!"

"First refusal rights for the movie deal?" bribed Connie.

"NO!"

"You might get to meet the cast of Camp Pining Hearts one day!" they both shouted, but Lapis still was not having it.

"Guys, I spent long enough getting looked at when-" she started, but suddenly covered her mouth, her eyes wide in shock.

Connie looked concerned and confused. That is until a memory stirred in her and Steven's minds; the mirror.

"Oh… I… I get it…" Steven said. Lapis then had a look of shame as she realized she gave it away.

"Lapis… it's not like that anymore. They'll just be watching for fun, not to interrogate you."

"I know that, but… The thought of so many eyes on me, expecting me to act how they want me to act. It's just too much for me… I... I don't think I can handle it..."

"But… you're not gonna be you on stage, remember?"

"Wait, what?"

"You're playing a character! That's totally different than someone asking you questions, right?"

"Well… yeah…"

"And you've seen how Jamie acts! He's a totally different person when he's in character. That's all you've gotta do."

"I… still don't know…"

"Lapis, did you notice the camera watching you when you were acting before?"

"No."

"See? You've already done it. Now you just have to do it again."

That got Lapis thinking and realized maybe she had less to be afraid of than she thought. Although she still sounded shaky, she spoke what he wanted to hear. "I'm in." This made Steven smile, "Great! That's good!" He then held out his hand, "Let's get back to the acting studio, okay?"

It took a few seconds, but Lapis took his hand…

* * *

Later, at the main stage…

"Nice to see you back and willing, Lapis!" Jamie said, smiling.

"I'm not sure about willing, but I'm here," the gem replied, reading through the much larger script, "Plus this is a LOT to go through."

"And this is why you have several weeks to memorize it instead of a few hours before shooting a scene. Don't worry, most people get nervous at first. It's nothing to be afraid of."

"Yeah," Steven agreed in a knowing tone.

"And besides, we'll be here every step of the way!" Connie added in a show of support.

While she began the first rehearsal with some uncertainty, Lapis was somewhat relieved to see her character did not actually arrive until the end of the first act with her meeting Rocco. The downside was she still had pages of lines to learn and often found her eyes drifting to the theater seats. That negative voice in her mind kept needling her about how hundreds of eager people would be watching her and they would boo her off the stage if she made the slightest mistake.

The other bright side was that both Steven and Connie stayed by her side for the first several days to help her nerves. They both sat in for many rehearsals with copies of the script on hand in case Lapis flubbed a line so she would immediately get back on track.

It was actually pretty fun, and Lapis didn't even mess up that often!

Eventually, she was able to do each scene with finesse. She actually began to have fun. She then saw the chairs that would be filled with people in the big night, but then she looked at Steven and Connie smiling at her, the former giving her a thumbs up every now and then, and her confidence would rise up again.

Opening night drew closer and closer and, once Lapis seemed confident enough to act on her own, the jam buddies threw themselves into helping the production wherever possible. Connie volunteered to run the livestream, but Jamie said they already had a man on the job. The girl then turned her efforts to the other technical aspects such as lighting, props and the general gruntwork that came with any production from lugging items around to fetching treats from Spacetries.

Steven put himself to work as something of Jamie's assistant director. A few were confused by the decision until the head of the school clarified that he was one of the co-writers of the original one-act play the larger production was based off of. The boy was especially taken into the costumes and cosmetics and soon found himself spending more time fiddling with the wardrobe and script than anything else. He was also amazed to see Jamie acting as both the leading man and the director, going from acting out scenes flawlessly to choreographing the entire production on a dime.

And before long, the fabled time arrived. Jamie's School of Theater Showmanship invited over 150 people into the building and had thousands more watching online even if some were fangirls who just wanted another shirtless Rocco scene.

Upon seeing some of these fangirls, Steven said, "Wow… some of these guys are… pretty devoted huh?"

"Yeah…" Connie said, seeing a few fanboys looking forward to seeing the lovely female lead in person. She only hoped none of them would do anything to make Lapis any more nervous. The gem was already shaking like a leaf in her dressing room.

"Lapis, breathe!" insisted Steven, "You've ran through this whole script how many times?"

"Eight," she replied stiffly.

"And did you ever ruin the whole show?"

"No but-"

"No buts! You can do this! We all believe in you!" Steven said in a serious, yet encouraging tone.

"Yeah… Okay, I can do this!"

"That's the spirit! You've got ten minutes."

Steven walked out of the dressing room, only to be confused when the door slammed behind him and locked from the other side.

"Uh, Lapis?" he said, trying to pull the handle open to no avail, "I think something's wrong with your door."

"No, I did that! Because I'm not coming out until the show's over and everyone else leaves!"

"WHAT?! You can't do that! What about believing in yourself and all the rehearsals?"

"You think it's so easy? YOU go out there and do it!"

"But I look terrible in that dress! Plus there's a bunch of guys in the audience who might not be happy to see me instead of you and-"

"Drop it!"

"Steven, what's going on?" asked Jamie as he came down the hallway, "We've got eight minutes until showtime! We need to go over some final notes with the cast."

"Uh, I'd love to, but we seem to be having a problem with our princess…"

"Oh, Steven, don't look so dejected. Bumps happen all the time here from misplaced costumes to-"

"She's barricaded herself in the room."

Jamie's reassuring tone almost instant shifted to an expression of shock and panic, "... WHAT!?"

He then all but pounded the door down and tried to hide his voice shaking. "Lapis, darling? We could really use you outside! The director wants to talk with you…"

"Then talk through the door because I'm staying here! And nothing you or any other person says can make me come out!"

"Should we try bribing her?" whispered Jamie, obviously desperate.

"Nope, she doesn't need money or fan letters. She's just terrified of all those people out there."

"Okay, stage fright is natural and is a problem with many actors… But it's still a problem!"

Steven wracked his brain for ideas and came up with blanks as the clock ticked down until one part of Lapis' words came to him. No person could convince her…

* * *

Meanwhile, in the front row seats of the theater, many of the Crystal Gems sat awaiting the beginning of the show. Pearl, Garnet, and Bismuth were there… along with…

"Ugh… this is pointless…" grumbled a very reluctant Jasper.

"We know," groaned Bismuth, "You've said that forty-three times!"

"Actually, now it's forty-four," corrected Garnet, "And we've been over this each time. Being a Crystal Gem means supporting each other even when we don't enjoy certain things."

"And maybe," suggested Pearl, "If you stopped with the misanthropic attitude, you might actually have some fun. I've been personally surprised by how much fun I've gotten from trying new things."

"Your idea of fun is cleaning and laundry," retorted the horned gem, "Anything else for you would be a riot."

Before they could descend into an argument, Steven came running in from the theater doors towards them. "Oh guys, there you are! I need your help! Lapis is panicking and won't leave her room because the show's too scary…"

"Oh man," lamented Bismuth, "That sounds rough, but what are we supposed to do?"

Steven looked over the four gems sitting down and his eyes fell on Jasper who looked like she was trying to drown out anything they were saying.

"Jasper, come with me."

"WHAT?!" all of the gems said in unison. All of them stared until Jasper broke into laughter.

"Alright, now I'm glad I'm here. That's the funniest thing I've ever heard!"

"I'm serious," retorted Steven, "I think you can shake her out of this."

Pearl looked like she was about to protest until Garnet stopped her. "Alright. If you think that's the way to go, then go. Just make sure she doesn't break anything."

Everyone thankfully gave Jasper a wide berth as stagehands got things ready at the last minute and actors crammed their lines. Steven being the only one near her, she looked at him for a moment and frowned. Steven knew why and brushed the thought aside, knocking on the door, "Lapis."

"Go away!" she yelled again.

"See?" he said to Jasper, "Are you gonna just let her sulk in there?"

"Why should I care?"

"Because the sooner the play's over, the sooner you can leave."

That finally got Jasper's attention and soon she broke the door down, much to Lapis' complete surprise. "What are you doing crying in here for?! You've got some show-thing to do!"

"What are you even doing here?!" Lapis demanded, "Steven, what's going on?"

"The others all pulled me out here against my will, ruining a perfectly good night, because they all wanna see you pretend to be someone else or whatever."

"Here's another idea: You just butt out of this and I'll stay here."

"Seriously? You fought two Diamonds and yet a room full of wimpy humans make you cry yourself into a corner?!"

"Ugh… I don't expect you of all people to understand!" Lapis yelled with disgust in her voice.

"You're right, I don't get it. I don't get how someone who's done something a million times can just wimp out. If you've practiced all this stuff, then stop worrying about what might go wrong and just do it!"

"But-"

"Do you know how many hours I spent training every day on Homeworld when I wasn't doing missions? No, because you can't count that high. And I did all of it so that when it came time to bring out the pain, I'd beat any naysayer to a pulp and I'd do it perfectly. I wouldn't be standing here if I let something stupid like nerves get the better of me so stop pouting and just get. Out. THERE!"

Lapis stood there dumbfounded, more out of the thought that Jasper was willingly helping her than anything she said, and yet her words actually sunk in. She headed out the door, changing her usual clothes into her costume dress, and headed out towards the stage.

* * *

The start was delayed a few minutes, but soon the curtain was raised and soon the first ever production of Jamie's school was underway: Coasting to Love.

Steven, Connie, and a reluctant Jasper were sitting in a separate area for members of the staff who would need to easily make it backstage while Onion, of all people, was sitting nearby handling the Livestream.

The play's first act focused mostly on Rocco trying to get by as a homeless young adult with only a handful of friends and his wits to try to make ends meet. As he went around his tiny coastal town, he saw the whole town was abuzz with news that a massive charity ball hosted by a foreign leader was being hosted at the ritzy resort nearby, but he paid it no mind. That only changed after a chance encounter with an immensely wealthy yet kind-hearted Princess Elissa who ended up rewarding him with a hundred dollars for finding her earrings even after trying to keep the immensely valuable jewelry for himself. She made it clear she wanted to see him again, but there was one major problem with that. The hotel where she was staying and hosting the event was owned by his mother who effectively disowned him for refusing to become a businessman even if such a career would mean a lifetime of misery.

As much as Jasper was initially disgusted by having to be there, she began to take some interest in the play. She knew a thing or two about being effectively thrown out of your life. The others, however, paid her no mind as Steven and Connie watched the play go off wonderfully much to the delight of the enraptured audience in the theater and people watching online.

Soon the first act was drawing to a close. Rocco managed to walk into the hotel to try and see Elissa, claiming she was a friend of hers, only to have his mother Gina arrive and threaten to call the police if he so much as set foot on the property again.

"What?!" Rocco shouted as he and Gina stood outside the golden revolving doors of the hotel, "You can't control my life! That's exactly why I left!"

"And yet here you are on MY property," Gina retorted, "And that means you are to be treated just like any other trespassing riffraff that can't take a hint." She then reached up and grabbed the frumpled cap on Rocco's head and stomped on it.

"HEY! Keep that up and I'll call the police!"

"Oh I don't think you will. Last time I checked, you can't afford a phone."

"I've got friends with them and there are these things called payphones!"

"The police will be notified to ignore any and calls from you, Rocco."

"Now you're just being insane! You don't control the police!"

"Perhaps not, but your father happens to have friends in extremely high places. He personally built an expansion on the chief of police's house and he has a handful of allies in the government offices thanks to his contracting work as well."

"You… You're serious…"

"Completely. Now then, I think you've wasted enough of my time."

She then pushed a button on her Blacktooth and called for security to have Rocco roughed up and sent packing. The curtain started to fall as the starving artist was being wailed on by two beefy black suits who proceeded to hoist him up and haul him to who knows where just as the curtain began to fall.

Steven and Connie were hanging on to every word of the play as much as the audience. It was amazing, Jamie's performance was spot on, and it seemed Lapis had a big chunk of her confidence back too! They were half-tempted to check on her backstage as the real bulk of her performance was in the second act, but were both surprised to have Jasper hold them back and insist Lapis was set.

And so, the curtain rose on the second act with everyone rushing back to their seats to watch the show resume. It actually followed not Rocco, but Elissa as she sat bored in her luxurious penthouse suite. Her latest excursion was discovered and now her security detail was under strict orders to keep her within the room. She thought back to a few days ago at the beach where she lost her earring only to have it returned to her. A smile appeared on her face as she thought or rather gave a soliloquy, about the charming ruffian who acted so selflessly even if it meant sacrificing the absurd amount of money he could have sold them for. She wished there was a way to contact him, but sighed realizing she had never gotten anything but his first name. She wanted to find a way to reach him, but her father then called and said she needed to attend an interview about the upcoming event. She would have been excited, but all of her guards followed her out the door and into her limo to ensure that she would arrive straight at the studio and then return to her gilded cage as fast as possible.

The scene then shifted to Rocco in his little hideaway, witnessing the lights of the festivities from afar. He was still busy nursing the black eye and bruises he received from his ex-mother's hired help and trying to convince himself he was not interested in the high-class party Elissa was attending. He played it off to the audience like he was completely fed up with the wealthy and opulent, but the subtle inflections in his voice whenever he mentioned the princess were not lost on anyone. The only issue would be getting in somehow...

Suddenly a bright glow appeared from behind Rocco It glowed faint at first until it revealed a woman adorned in brightly colored robes…

Bismuth went wide-eyed at what her eyes were seeing, "Wait a sec. It's that… Biggs!?"

Rocco stared at the elegantly dressed stranger in shock, "Wh-What!? Who- Who are you!?"

"In a traditional sense, I'm your fairy godmother, but you can call me something else if you'd like," she said in a nurturing tone.

"You're… my fairy godmother," Rocco stated in a tone of disbelief, "You're…" he lightly, yet firmly, touched her shoulder, "You're real?"

"Of course. I know you've been through so much hardship, but I have a way to fix that. A way to have you reunite with Elissa and have a better life…" A glow appeared from a stone embedded in her body and the audience was blinded until the curtains suddenly closed and soon stagehands bustled through to change the scene into an opulent ballroom. A grand fanfare soon played as Princess Elissa of Kyrena descended from a grand staircase to the applause of the public. She then recited some speech about the party being used to raise awareness for refugees in her home country, but her tone lacked much conviction. It was only made worse as the party guests all chatted with her either about general fluff or about how much opening a branch office of whatever business they owned would benefit her cause. She all but gagged when one of the people schmoozing her went on about his crematorium business would be the perfect thing for "her people."

Just when she was about to give up this whole thing and find a way to ditch the party, one of the security guards made his way to the front door to deal with an argument between the doorman and an unexpected arrival.

"Oh, thank goodness you're here!" exclaimed the hired help, "This crasher keeps spouting nonsense about how he's invited, but I know every single guest has arrived! Escort him away at once!"

"I'm glad you're here as well," said the stranger, dressed in a white pinstripe suit, "I have a personal invitation here from Princess Elissa herself and yet this man won't accept it. If you could remedy this situation, would you?"

The guard took the piece of paper the new guest was holding and was stunned to see a handwritten letter that matched Elissa's penmanship to a tee complete with her signature at the bottom.

"I am deeply sorry for the confusion," he continued, "But I was a last-minute invite and this hotel's concierge seemed dead on her feet. If you ask me, the owner might not be giving her enough vacation time…"

Elissa kept looking at the man and bore an off feeling that she knew him from somewhere before, muttering, "He looks… awfully familiar…"

Eventually, the man's invite was accepted with the guard saying, "My apologies again, sir. Please, enjoy the evening."

The young stud then waltzed inside, much to the amazement of all the other guests. They watched the young man in his black wingtip shoes move along the dane floor over to the still staring princess. His eyes were hidden by the white fedora sitting on his head and yet her eyes were more drawn to the sapphire cufflinks that seemed to glow against the white fabric underneath them. Their design looked awfully similar to the earrings she was wearing…

Before she knew it, he was right in front of her. He raised his hat to reveal his eyes and then whispered into her, but loud enough for the audience to hear, "No more scenic routes today?"

"W-What?" she stammered.

"I would've loved to run into you again, but maybe it's for the best. I might not be able to find your things next time…"

"Rocco?!" she almost shouted but was hushed by the man laughing out loud. When the crowd seemed to think that the name was a punchline to a joke, he moved them to the side of the dance floor to talk.

"Is… is that really you?" She said in a subtle whisper as the small orchestra began to play another score of waltz music.

"Yes, it's me," Rocco stated, "It's so good to see you again…"

"But… How? I thought you weren't on good terms with your parents."

"Understatement of the decade, but that doesn't matter. Let's just say I had some help from a new friend of mine."

"I mean… The clothes, that invitation, that whole story…"

"All things she came up with. Look, I can't give you the full story but I'll explain it when I see you again. You… do want to see me again after this, right?"

"Of course! You're so honest and kind and now you're doing all of this just to see me again… I think I'm going to cry…"

"Don't. Please don't."

"I'm sorry, it's just… All my life has been one big plan. Nothing but events and ceremonies and throwing myself into the public. No one asks me about my hobbies, my personality, or even my skin condition..."

"All of that just makes you more unique. And if other people are more concerned with your money or using you to make money for themselves, then that's a tragedy. You easily could've become some spoiled brat or a clueless airhead, but you've shown me more kindness than my actual family."

Being moved by his words, Elissa then said, "Thank you, Rocco, for being here tonight. It's… more than I could have asked for."

"Hey, anything for you, right? Speaking of which," he said as the music moved to a new song as he held out his hand to her, "Would you like to dance?"

She looked at him with awe before smiling warmly and taking his hand. The crowd parted as everyone watched the duo take the center of the floor. To them, however, no one else was around as they let the music, their feet and the longing in each other's eyes take all of their attention.

When the song ended, they drifted outside to the hotel's back garden not far from the swimming pool. The noise of the event was replaced by the quiet ambiance of crickets and the occasional splash from someone taking a dip. To the new couple, however, it was a welcome change from the commotion that was the ball. They sat on a stone bench and looked up at the stars as the night wore on and only now noticed they were still holding hands.

"Where did you learn to dance like that?" asked Elissa.

"I've had some time to practice in my free time," Rocco asked, "To be honest it just comes naturally to me. I've been dreaming of attending an event like this, so I began to practice when I was alone. Heh." He had a shy smile when he finished that statement.

"Well, call me impressed. I've seen guys spend thousands of dollars on private lessons and they still end up tripping over themselves."

"That or they're too busy trying schmooze instead of actually dancing."

"You have no idea…" The two then shared a happy laugh, enjoying themselves. After a second, they began to look at each other. At that moment, Rocco appreciated just how lovely she looked that evening, and from the look in her eyes, it was evident that she had similar feelings for him… Then the two leaned in… they got closer…

… Then their lips met… The two actually began to embrace in a warm, tender moment.

A lot of people in the audience truly felt this moment when it happened. Connie herself gave a warm smile at this scenario…

Then the two parted, smiling warmly at each other… That is until the grand clock began to chime out!

"Oh-Oh gosh! … It's midnight!" Rocco said, freaking out.

"Um… yes… why?"

"Goodbye!" He said, giving her a quick, warm hug before making haste to the nearest exit.

"WAIT!" she called as he ran off, "What's going on? Was it something I said?" When he did not turn around, she was about to run after him until she spotted something on the ground behind him. The single white glove he had been wearing the whole evening had fallen off. She picked it up, and stared at it, longing, "Please… let me find you again…"

Meanwhile, Rocco was trying to flee the area desperately trying to make it out before he was captured or worse. He looked down at his outfit, the fabric was starting to wither, becoming more rag like and even bits of it fading into dust! He knew it was only thanks to the magic imbued in the clothes that his mother or her hired hands did not recognize him. Now that he was back to a tattered shirt and some raggedy pants, anyone who saw him now would not hesitate to throw him out. He just barely made it over the fence separating the hotel garden from the nearest street, not realizing that the white glove on his right hand looked no different despite the passing time.

Eventually, he was able to make it to a nearby alleyway, safely away from any of the guards and workers. Panting, he almost instantly began to wipe his forehead with his hand, only when he brought it up, he saw that the glove was still there! Untarnished! He thought it must have been a miracle. He had a memento of the evening, a reminder that he would see his new friend again…

The audience was not lost on the situation either thanks to Jamie elaborating to the crowd. They were all taken in by the story despite its familiar structure and were especially impressed by the techniques. Steven made a note to thank Peridot for coming up for the transforming costume even if it meant several days of her non-stop bragging. And he KNEW how much she liked to brag about her ideas and inventions…

He and Connie also saw a few giggling fangirls every here and there. Connie silently nodded at Jamie's shamelessness in the play…  
The next day, Elissa refused to give up on seeing Rocco again but knew her father would not just accept some random beggar being the suave surprise guest at her party and also had a hunch his mother would stop him if he tried to return it. Instead she came up with a plan to sniff him out: she claimed that the glove in her possession was another priceless heirloom and put an ad around town for $100,000 to anyone who could show her the missing glove. In order to find the real article, however, she kept the ad intentionally vague only mentioning the glove's color. When hundreds of people inevitably turned up with random white handwear, she knew she would write off many of them instantly. Half of them were the same hand as the one she had, many were cheap mittens bought in the hopes of people trying to make a quick buck and a few were from chumps from last night's soiree trying to make more money off her. Those were the easiest ones to spot since her glove did not have monogrammed initials or were studded with enough gemstones to make them worth as much as her reward. At least she got a kick seeing a few of the more pompous suitors from that night, including Mr. Crematorium, insist they were right only to have their hopes shot down when she presented her glove. Despite that though, there was little else of interest that came from her search. But still, she continued even after several days of searching. That all changed when Gina came knocking on her suite's door…

"Your Highness? Are you available?" she said from the other side.

"Hm? Yes, you may enter." Elissa stated absentmindedly.

The woman immediately entered the room, then bowed to the princess before she spoke further, "My apologies to trouble you, but I understand you're still searching for your matching glove."

"Yes, that's true. Have you found anything?"

"Unfortunately not. I asked all of the staff who worked that evening and none of them are missing a glove and they know no one who has."

"Oh? That's quite a shame."

"If you would like, I have some porters who could search around the town for your heirloom…"

"There's no need for that," Elissa assured, "Because I… have a confession to make?"

"Y-Your highness?"

"I know exactly who this glove belongs to. It's not me, but your son."

Gina looked shocked for a moment, but quickly regained her composure. "I'm sorry, but you must have mistaken me for someone else. I've never had any children."

"Really? Because Rocco had plenty of things to say about you."

"Ooooooo!" the entire audience went as Gina's demeanor went from calm to cold.

"Burn!" Connie said almost too loudly, luckily the play went on without a hitch.

"So," Gina continued, "You're trying to say my worthless vagabond of a son who's spent the past five years drifting aimlessly somehow got into a high-society banquet and danced with royalty like you? Pardon the question, but are you well?"

"I should be asking you that. What kind of mother completely shuts her own child out of her life?"

"One who, after decades of planning and resources, has all that thrown away by an ungrateful 'artist' who'd rather not make tens of millions of dollars."

"Take it from someone who has tens of billions, money isn't everything. Now call your son and get him here."

"I'm sorry, I have other business to attend to today…" Gina said trying to leave the room, only to have two armed guards of the princess stop the hotelier in her tracks.

"I suspect you are a very busy woman," Elissa pondered, "After all, assaulting your own son is a serious offense."

"What?! How did you-?"

"You don't think I have access to your hotel's security footage? There's been someone watching it 24/7 since I've arrived as part of my security detail. It has audio and video, so I also know about your husband's connections to the police."

Some of the color drained from Gina's face when she heard that tidbit of information.

"... So? He can easily cover his tracks?"

"Are you sure about that?" Elyssa asked daringly, "One call to my father with the evidence I have and I'll have your hotel shut down, your husband's construction company shut down as well and I'm fairly certain you'll both be facing jail time for corrupt business practices. Not just for the corrupt ties to the police, but I know you let Rocco go when he was 16 which means you might be guilty of child abandonment! Granted, I'm not entirely familiar with the legal system of this country but it still sounds rather bad, doesn't it?"

Now Gina looked half ready to faint. "Y-You can't do that… Everything we've worked for…"

"...All made you so greedy and ambitious that you mistreated a young man with a wonderful heart so he could be your successor. And if all the evidence I have isn't convincing enough, I can simply blacklist your business. And given I'm a figure of international royalty…"

"I… I'll go get him."

"Good. And Gina?"

"Yes?"

"I suggest you watch your finances for the next few months. I may have had some background checks run on you and your husband's enterprises after hearing what horrendous parents you are. That will be all."

The audience loudly cheered, the most prominent being the gems in the audience including Jasper, as Gina stormed off the set.

"This is getting pretty good!" Connie said.

"Yeah," Steven added, "Everyone's doing pretty awesome in this play!"

Later, the scene was of Rocco, being escorted to a small audience chamber where Elyssa was waiting for him.

"Excuse me," she said as he approached and pulled the glove out of her purse, "But I believe this belongs to you."

"Yeah, it does," he replied happily, slipping the glove over his right to compliment the one on his left, "So… Care to have a second date?"

"I'd love that," she said as Rocco took her in his arms and planted a gentle kiss on her lips. The curtain closed on the couple finally getting there happily ever after while applause flooded the actors' ears. Connie looked over the screen to see the comments section for the stream was immensely positive while the in-person audience gave a standing ovation as Jamie and Lapis came out from behind the curtain to give a final bow to everyone watching. The gem never looked happier even as she looked over to her side and saw Jasper giving a begrudging expression that was trying to hide how impressed she was.

* * *

A few minutes later, Steven and Connie were both with Jamie and Lapis, personally praising them for their performance.

"That was amazing Lapis!" Steven said, proud of his 'beach buddy.'

"Heh, thanks Steven. I guess Jasper was kind of right when she gave me that… 'advice.' Heh."

"Well I thought it was amazing." Jamie said.

"Yeah!" Connie said, "That was amazing!"

"Y-Yeah… She's right…"

The five wheeled around and saw someone who surprised them, Kevin, "Heh… hey Jamie…" He said nervously.

The rich guy's presence was a shock to the group. "Kevin…" Jamie said in some slight disbelief, "You never took an interest in my acting ambitions before."

"I've been trying to expand how I spend my time. Plus I… gotta admit that was pretty good."

"Really?"

"Yeah… I gotta admit I wish I could meet someone like that. And Steven, you did a pretty nice job on this yourself."

"Thanks!" the boy replied, "You wanna stick around?"

"I would but I have someone to meet with later and Sabrina can't stand someone being late."

Steven and Jamie were both stunned to hear this. "Wait, THAT Sabrina?" said the latter.

"Shockingly, yes. I finally owned up to how I treated her and she was really impressed that I apologized. Anyway, I gotta go. Later!" He then left, sliming.

Connie herself was shocked, she never really experienced Kevin being that… pleasant before… It was too weird for her.

Suddenly Steven's phone began to ring. He pulled it out of his pocket and noticed a text. When he read it, though, he could not hide his reaction. His entire body started glowing pink while he looked at the device like he was trying to stare through it.

"Steven? What's going on with that?" said Connie, "Does glowing like that… hurt?"

"Uh…" he hesitated before shutting the light off and slamming his phone in his pocket, "It's nothing! I just have to go too!"

And with that, he rushed out the backdoor of the theater, a look of panic across his face.


	26. Chapter 26

Chapter 26: New Threats, New Struggles

Greg was currently making his way to Jamie's acting studio. He was running a few minutes late, certain he would miss the opening act. "Ah jeez," he said to himself, "Of all the times for the van to break down…"

He was halfway there on foot, trying to walk as swiftly as possible when all of a sudden, he heard a voice, "Um, excuse me, sir?"

"Hm?" the middle-aged man looked around in confusion, then turned around and looked down. He saw a gem, only this one was a peculiar sight. She was rather short, barely coming up to his knees, but what drew his attention was everything else about her. From her having two sets of legs, one pair directly behind the other, to having a collared dress shirt that was red on one half and blue on the other and ending with a red bowl haircut with a splotch of red and blue near her right eye. Her left eye… was a gem. IT was a splotched mixture of red and blue, it was also accompanied by a second, teardrop-shaped gem of the same color design.

"Uh, hey there," he said awkwardly, "Can I help you?"

"Yes…" she said in a seemingly kind tone, "You can help me find someone. I'm looking for a young man named Steven."

"Oh, you mean Steven Universe?"

"Yes, that's it! I don't suppose you know him?"

"Know him? I'm his dad! The better question is what I don't know about him."

In a split second, the odd gem went from cheerful to smirking as she suddenly spawned a pair of watery wings from her back and flew right into Greg's gut, sending two surprisingly strong fists into him that knocked all the wind from him. The gem then grabbed Greg's long head of hair and dragged him behind his still parked van and quickly punched him into unconsciousness before rooting around his pocket for his cellphone. She began to scroll through the contacts list until she found Steven, and smiled… She then began to deliver Steven a text message.

"I have your father. If you want to see him again, you will come to the woods at the southern outskirts of town. Come alone. And come quickly; he might not last long otherwise…

The small fusion had a sinister smile on her face…

* * *

Despite him shoving past many people as he dashed out of the drama school right after the play ended, Steven paid them no mind. His heart was racing at a mile a minute and it was all he could do to run past the other Crystal Gems. He was not naive enough to think this was anything but a trap, but how could he risk his father's safety by bringing them as backup?

Suddenly a voice spoke to him from within the shadows of an alley, "My my, you look quite troubled. Something you need help with?"

"Ye- I mean, no!" he quickly lied, "I just need to be somewhere right now."

"You mean… wherever your father might be?" she said cryptically. Then suddenly she said, "Don't worry… your 'Greg' is perfectly fine… for now…" she did a sinister laugh…

Steven then looked at her and then stated in shock, "W-Wait. YOU!? You took him!? But… but why!?"

"Oh Steven," she then began to point at her two gemstones, while continuing, "Don't tell me you actually don't recognize me?"

He was completely baffled looking at his father's kidnapper. He never saw any gem like her before, but a nagging feeling in the back of his head said otherwise. Looking at the two multicolored stones on the same side of her head, though, made him alarmed. One was a circular gem in place of her right eye and another was a teardrop on her cheek like some kind of birthmark. And then all at once, a horrible thought came to him… He had seen those gems in those places before even if they were different hues. He saw them in quick succession when he was brought into trial on Homeworld…

"Aquamarine and Eyeball?! What?! How?! Why are you here and like… that?! Fused?!"

"Are you familiar with the term 'common enemy?' It's actually quite simple, you simpleton. Those two Gems both despise you with every fiber of their being and so now I'm here."

"You took my dad! How could you?! The war's over now!"

"To answer your question: quite easily. He's just as soft and pathetic as every other organic being on this planet. And I'm sorry, but you're quite insane if you think I'm the only gem in the cosmos who's unhappy with you."

"What?"

"Well to be honest, some Gems out there were actually very happy with the way things were before. Then suddenly their way of life, their joyful duties were suddenly taken away from them? A LOT of those Gems are really out for your, 'blood' I presume?"

Steven felt tense at her speech, "But now we have a chance to make ourselves heard and even stand up for the old ways. Especially with that tyrannical rogue Diamond stirring things up. Heh-Heh-Heh-Heh-Heh!"

"You little…!" he growled, his body briefly flashing pink again before grabbing her by the arms, "Where is he?! I won't let you take him again!"

"As priceless as your expression is, I'm not telling!"

That only made the boy turn pink again and hoist the gem up like a doll in his arms. "I'm warning you!"

"Or what? You'll try to befriend me like you did with that other Ruby?!" She laughed uproariously at her own joke only to be suddenly thrown away and landed back first into a brick wall hard enough to leave several foot-long cracks.

"I'm not kidding around! You think you can just mock me after kidnapping my family?! I tried being nice before so now I'm done! Tell me where Dad is or you're gonna be sorry!"

"A bit too late for that," she snarked, summoning a cutlass from her gems, "I'm already sorry I've ever been in contact with you!"

She then unleashed a barrage of slashes against her opponent, Steven just barely able to dodge each one, to the point where he actually had to summon his sword and shield to aid him in the brawl. Their fight eventually pulled them out of the alleyway and into the main street where several pedestrians panicked seeing a tiny flying alien wielding an ice sword trading blows with a glowing pink teenager.

She then summoned a small HORDE of ice swords that were floating atop her wings, drawing them out of the water in the air. Steven panicked for a moment, but quickly countered by summoning a wall of hexagonal barriers that kept all her projectiles at bay before leaping over it and nearly slicing her in half with his own blade. The fusion dodged, but the shop window behind her was not so lucky as it broke into thousands of shards from the force of the attack.

"Oh look at that!" goaded Bluebird, "Breaking more things just like how you broke our whole society into pieces!"

"Shut up!" demanded Steven, his entire body burning from anger.

"Or what? You'll sink your teeth into me like you did with the other Diamonds? I don't know how you convinced them you were Pink Diamond because I think you're better off shattered!"

Having already been threatened, insulted, attacked and being reminded of several past failures, that line was the final straw. As Steven was reduced to snarling in anger, half ready to foam at the mouth, his body spoke for him. His clothes began to rip slightly as the muscles underneath swelled in size before he started trying to rein it in. He would not let himself become that mindless goliath again even if it meant wiping the floor with the annoying nuisance who put his father in danger. The only problem with that was that it made his whole body flare in pain like he was trying to keep in an explosion. Seeing his discomfort, Bluebird charged in with more ice swords ready to slice him to bits. Steven just BARELY managed to notice this and set up a hexagonal gem barrier in front of him out of instinct. This helped him stay in control of his body again as the little 'episode' seemed to stop for a bit but soon he was fighting a battle on two different fronts. He may have been faster and stronger than Bluebird, but having to do all of this while simultaneously keeping every muscle in his body in check meant he was taking more hits than normal. And even then, there was the occasional lapse where his arm, let or even head would bloat before he forced it back down. Seeing this, the rogue fusion took her change and began to ram Steven blowing him back a bit. She then began to deal a deadly swing, Steven tried to parry it only for the slash to knock his sword out of his hand. She then used her power to summon a flurry of swords to surround Steven. Fearing for his life, the hybrid surrounded himself in a standard gem bubble!  
"Face it, Universe!" Bluebird stated, "You're outmatched!"

Right before the attack could land, all of her swords melted at once thanks to her being flung into another wall. When Steven opened his eyes, he saw Garnet standing in front of him looking ready to smash Bluebird into paste with her gauntlets.

"You okay?" she said, with her normal stoic smile.

He lowered his bubble… "Y-Yeah… I'm fine."

"You might be alive now," called Bluebird as she rose from her latest beating, "But that Greg won't be! You want him back? You better be ready to search for him!" She then crossed her arms, revealing a pair of orange bracelets that soon engulfed a near-white warp stream that sent her flying away in an instant.

"What the-!?" Steven was shocked at what he just saw. Only to suddenly be flooded with worry.

Then Garnet placed a hand on his shoulder. He looked up, then she said, "She took Greg?" Steven silently nodded, then Garnet stated, "Then we'll get him back."

"I mean… If she can teleport like that, he could be anywhere!"

"Then we'll have to go bigger than just us."

* * *

That night, Steven felt more awkward than he ever had in his entire life. He was half tempted to run away as Peridot used a communicator left by Yellow Diamond to call up her and the other three Diamonds. Considering how their last meeting ended, he honestly thought searching the whole planet himself was a better prospect.

Before he could back out, though, four screens appeared showing the surprised faces of each of the Diamonds.

"Steven, is that you? What is it?" asked Blue, "Judging by your planet's rotation, it's quite late."

"Your body changed quite substantially again," noted Yellow, "Are you needing us to run some form of tests on this?"

"Well perhaps he could explain if you both stopped badgering him!" said Black, "Now then, go on. What's the issue?"

Steven breathed in and explained his recent run-in with the gem he only knew as Bluebird, a fusion of two other gems that had each nearly killed him in the past, and how this gem had kidnapped his father. "And… that's what happened and… I need your help…" He looked very nervous at his sorta aunts and uncle… Especially at White since she had yet to say anything since the meeting began.

"So you know that this gem is a fusion between a ruby and an aquamarine," surmised Yellow, "Fortunately, that makes it much easier to track them."

"Track them how?" asked Steven.

"Each gem has a unique signature whenever it warps," explained Black, "And while it might take some tweaking to account for them being fused, we should have a definitive answer with all of our resources devoted to it."

"So… you'll be able to find them!?"

"Absolutely," White stated, "Anything to make up for… what happened a bit earlier."

"Oh yeah… I'm really sorry about that. I-"

"Steven, we get it," assured Blue, "Our way of life is what led to situations like Pink Diamond. Trying to enforce our will over other planets isn't going to work forever."

"The only downside is," said Yellow, "Now we have throngs of upset militia who just had their jobs taken away."

"Wait," Steven said, suddenly remembering, "Bluebird said the same thing, but when did they start working for Red Diamond?"

"What makes you so sure of that?" asked Blue, "From your story, it sounds like she isn't fond of Red either and could just be working as a personal vendetta."

"Well… They did have a warp stream device a lot like Red Pearl…"

"Many possible explanations for that," said White, "Red could've tried recruiting her but failed, Bluebird could have stolen it from one of Red's agents or she simply found it through chance. While I would not completely discount that insane Diamond being involved somehow, it is only an option at this point."

Indeed Steven was worried now, more of his enemies would potentially be working for Red Diamond… Suddenly an idea sparked in his head, "Wait! Bluebird used Dad's phone to send me a message! Maybe we can track her down through the phone number!"

"We'd need a sample of your technology to track the signal, but it should be easily doable," confirmed Black, "I'll send my pearl over to collect it."

It was not long before Black Pearl warped into the temple and ended up leaving with Steven's cell phone. The boy could not tell what was more surprising: the usually eccentric pearl acting so serious or that he was giving his phone up to the Diamonds. Eventually the Gems began to triangulate Greg's location. It took a few minutes, but soon they found him. The only issue was he was nowhere near Beach City.

"Egypt?!" yelled Steven, watching the holographic map Black Pearl was generating along with a glowing dot showing his father's location.

"No doubt she brought him there through a warp stream," examined Yellow Diamond, "But fortunately, there's a warp pad maybe a hundred miles from that location."

"Forget that! I have an even faster way there!" Steven ran up to his room to find Lion lounging on his bed.

"Lion! I need your help!" he yelled at his pet and friend, only to be met by a drowsy growl.

"This is an emergency! I'm serious, Dad's been taken and we need to get him back NOW! You can make one little jump to Egypt, right? Then you can go right back to your nap, okay?"

Much to the boy's delight, Lion actually seemed to agree to that as he got up and headed with him downstairs. After taking a look at the globe at where he would be going, the feline was ready to head off, standing tall as if to await further orders from Steven. However, just as he was about to climb on board his friend, he heard a voice call out to him, "Steven! Wait up!"

The young hybrid turned around and noticed that Lapis was flying towards him.

"Lapis!? What are you doing here!?" he asked in surprise.

"Garnet told me what happened. I'm here to help."

"Uh, are you sure? We're going to a desert so…"

"So what? I'm not completely helpless if there's no water. Plus that fusion can fly so I'm the best fit to go up against her. Plus I'm gonna make her pay for making your father miss the play."

Skewed priorities aside, Steven was appreciative and decided to go along with it. Lion wasted no more time as he roared open a portal and brought the two to the middle of the thankfully cool desert. They were miles away from the nearest populated city but that wasn't the main issue in their minds… That would be a knocked out Greg lying on the sand right behind two new gems. Both of them were blue, the same height as Lapis and had water wings deployed as if ready to fly off any minute. In fact, it turns out they were more Lapis Lazulis.

"What the heck?!" said an immensely confused Steven, "Who are you two? Where's Bluebird?"

"She had to get more help," explained one of them, "Luckily, we stepped up to the plate."

"But- Seriously!?" Steven said, exasperated. The two gems seemed to ignore his statement, and looked at their fellow Lapis.

"What are you two looking at?" she said, feeling awkward as the two stared at her.

"Do you have any idea who that is?" said one of them, her curlier hair waving in the desert wind, "That's the gem who's completely ruined our whole life!"

"Yeah!" agreed the other one, the gold flecks on her cheeks accentuating her face, "That's the creep posing as Pink Diamond!"

"'Posing?'" Steven gawked, but the pair still ignored him while his Lapis got offended.

"Okay, you two are a bunch of nut jobs who need to shut it. First of all, he's my friend and has been way nicer to me than anyone on Homeworld. And second, you all need to let Greg go before I make you."

The two invaders looked at each other for a moment before laughing like she told a hilarious joke. That only made the original Lapis even angrier.

"You, forcing us to do anything?" snarked the curly-haired Lapis, "That's a riot since you stuck around those pathetic Crystal Gems. Everyone knows the only reason they got by is Pink pulling the strings the entire time."

"Besides," agreed the gold-freckled one, "There's two of us and only one of you. What makes you think you can beat us?"

"I know I can!" yelled Steven as he rushed towards his father, only to be blocked by a heavy splash of water from one of the two rogue Lazulis.

This prompted the two to laugh. "Yeah right!" They only stopped when Steven came a few inches away from socking them both and flew away right before he would have collided with them.

As they dodged their sudden attack, their eyes were taken away from the Crystal Gem Lapis who wasted no time following them into the sky. Even with a lack of any water to manipulate, she was still capable of briefly shaping her wings into aquatic fists to pummel them with. Steven was shocked with the sheer aggression Lapis was showing, but then the Lazuli Duo managed to do a brutal one-two counterattack, knocking her back greatly! Seeing his friend getting clobbered brought out his pink side again and before he knew it he was flying up to meet them.

The rogue gems were so engrossed in laughing over their enemy that they did not notice Steven rushing in to meet them and thus got two barriers smashed in their faces.

"You think this is funny?" he asked as he summoned more barriers along with unsheathing his sword, "Laugh at this!"

He then threw his sword at the duo at high speed. The rogue Lazulis both only had a split-second to dodge the attack and even then Steven essentially headbutted one of the two, knocking her back several meters.

The other one managed to take to the air, giving Steven and Lapis a dark look, "Is that it?" she said as her companion was able to get back up and fly next to her, "You are no match for us…" Her voice sounded both threatening and overconfident, and at this point, it was starting to really tick off the hybrid. He felt the burning sensation throughout his body again. He could feel his muscles trying to explode out of control again, but he forced them down. He also ended up grounding himself, much to the confusion of his foes.

"Uh, is he okay?" asked the freckled Lapis.

"Who cares?!" chastised her partner, "Now we should move in and attack!"

"Good luck with that!" boasted the original Lapis Lazuli. Seeing that Steven had the fight mostly handled, she briefly left to find any possible source of water to boost her chances against the rogues. Thankfully there was a reservoir outside of the nearest town she could use, but she made a mental note to bring it back. She formed the hundreds of gallons of liquid above her into two house-sized fists and smashed both enemy Lazulis into the sand. It was only then that she saw Steven clutching himself in pain.

"Oh my gosh!" she shouted, flying to his side, "Are you okay? Did those two hurt you?"

"It's… complicated," he ground out as his body started flickering pink, "You came back just in time." His body kept shifting, changing in size and structure unevenly. Lapis was shocked, "Wha- What's happening!?"

"Good question!" he panicked, shutting his powers off completely and thankfully making his body return to normal. The only problem is now he was sweating bullets and both of the enemy Lazulis started firing water rockets at him.

"Thanks for bringing us all this ammo, idiot!" taunted the curly Lazuli as the barrage continued.

Having to protect herself and Steven, Lapis was forced to use her powers to detonate the rockets in midair before they could reach her but that stretched her powers and her focus to their breaking point. It made it impossible for her to see the freckled Lazuli fly around behind her and latch a water chain around the exhausted Steven's stomach and try to drag him away.

"Hey!" Lapis yelled, "Leave him alone!"

She managed to hijack the water being used and shot it straight at the freckled Lazuli, knocking her back greatly. While Lapis to keep Steven safe, she still had the other one to deal with as she made all the water circle around them like a tornado.

"Don't even think about flying away!" she shouted over the raging torrent around them, "Try to get out through the top and my partner will stop you!"

Steven watched as his Lapis used her powers to stop the rapid spinning, but that still left him stuck in a column of water. Knowing that the freckled Lazuli was waiting for someone to pop out of the only opening, the boy realized brute force was not the answer here. While his friend and the curly-haired enemy were straining their hydrokinesis, Steven decided to try talking his way out of it.

"W- Wait! Stop!" Surprisingly, the three near-identical gems all stopped what they were doing and looked at him. "We shouldn't fight! I mean, we're all Gems, right?! Just let Dad go, and we can talk this out! Okay!?"

The two Lazulis stopped to talk to him for a second… then their expressions turned to those of spite.

"Talk? TALK?!" shouted the curly Lazuli, "That's how you ruined everything! You convinced the other Diamonds to throw away everything that made our society wonderful and turn into a mess!"

"B-But…" puttered Steven, but there was no stopping her.

"Shut up!" the freckled Lazuli said, "You took away the only thing we were ever made for!"

"W-well, can't you just find something else?"

"Is that supposed to be a joke?!" shouted both Lazulis at once, but Lapis stepped to try and calm them down.

"Steven's right! Homeworld may have made you for one specific thing, but you both have options!"

"What if we don't want 'options'?" said the curly Lazuli, "What if we were perfectly happy with how things were? What if we got thrown in jail just for finishing up a job we were already assigned?! We've spent millennia doing the same thing and being praised for it and now YOU get to walk in and say it's all wrong?!"

"And we're not the only ones!" cried the other Lazuli, "My other friends are all either depressed because they have nothing to do anymore or have run away! I watched them all flee just to get away from the insanity you made all because you think you know better!"

"You started this fight the day you started interfering in our lives!" The grounded Lazuli then started shrinking the water column surrounding them.

"And if you won't go away, we'll make you do it! We're doing this for everyone you've hurt!" The airborne Lazuli made the column's top shut, trapping her comrade and the two enemies in the giant water tube. With them stuck, they then made the tube spew around several blades that threatened to impale both of them. Steven summoned a bubble around him and Lapis, but he knew it would not last long between the new wave of attack and the exhaustion from keeping his powers under control.

"Steven, you're shaking!" Lapis said, trying to regain control of the water.

"I don't have a choice," he groaned, "I can't let it end like this…"

"And it won't," she promised. Overpowering the duo was not working and diplomacy was gone, but perhaps there was still a solution.

She could feel the pull both of the enemy Lazulis had on the swirling vortex, but she could tell they were spreading their power thin to keep up such a vicious onslaught. Lapis reached out a hand and focused on one single point directly behind the rogue gem inside the tornado.

"What do you want?" asked the enemy Lazuli, "Pleading for us to stop again?"

"No… I told you I'd make you stop this."

"Stop this then!" A watery chain wrapped around Steven's bubble, still taking a beating from the bombardment, and squeezed it with all her might. The boy inside cried out in pain, his entire body begging for mercy, but Lapis was unaffected. She gave the cocky gem an icy glare as she pulled her arm back and released her power. A single water sword flew out amongst the dozens flitting about and stabbed the curly-haired kidnapper right through the chest. This caused the rogue gem to poof, her gem landing on the sand. Her partner looked at this and froze in shock.

Steven, feeling his fatigue get to him, simply fell to the ground nearly unconscious. His gem bubble vanished in a spark of light as he collapsed.

"Steven!" Lapis noticed this and rushed to his aid. As she was distracted, the remaining Lazuli went and fled to where Greg was still lying knocked out. She then grabbed him and then took out a device from her gem's storage space, then with the press of a button, the two teleported away.

Lapis was just barely able to see this, "No!" They were too late! Greg was gone, again…

"Lion…" called Steven weakly, "We need you…"

"Steven, don't worry. I'll take you home and-"

"I'm not… going home. I'm… going after her."

"Did you take a hit to the head? Look at yourself! You can barely get up! How are you gonna fight her and whatever new cronies she's with?"

"But… Dad…" His pleas stopped when his body finally gave out on him and he slumped to the ground. Thankfully, Lion was bounding towards him and Lapis helped him onto the animal's back before hopping on herself and the two were teleported back home.

* * *

Later they were at the temple beach house, tending to an irate Steven, upset that they let a rogue gem get away with his father AGAIN. Every muscle in his body ached from overexertion and now he could barely move on top of the bruises spread through his arms and back from Bluebird and the Lazuli duo.

"Steven," Lapis said, "We did what we could… We-"

Suddenly his body was glowing pink, his muscles twitching as if trying to hulk out. In their opinion, it was a surprise Steven's body didn't regress to that monster yet, and right now it barely twitched in terms of size.

"I think our bigger concern should be THAT," said Peridot, backing away from Steven's bed as he laid there, "Have you actually tried running any sort of test?"

"Not really. It does seem like it flares up whenever he gets emotional…" answered Lapis.

"Perhaps we should focus on this more," said Black Pearl, having been assigned to watch over the boy by his Diamond until he recovered, "With everyone else searching for leads, we have ample time here to get more insight into his condition."

"Perhaps you're right," Peridot told the masculine gem, "We shouldn't let this opportunity pass by. Isn't that right Steven?"

Steven looked at them for a bit, then frowned, nervous, "I… I dunno… I mean… I guess… But..." He then looked at the monitors Peridot was tending to, "What about Dad?"

"Steven," Black Pearl said, with a sense of seriousness, "If ANYTHING new comes up, I PROMISE you'll be the first to know."

"Right now, you need to sleep," advised Lapis, "Like it or not, you won't be doing anyone any good being so banged up and exhausted."

"And as tempting as it is to experiment," Peridot muttered, "I'm no expert on human anatomy to judge much."

"Not helping, Peri…"

"Well, is there anyone here who is more knowledgeable?" asked Black Pearl, "Bearing in mind that his unique physiology would mean some liberties would need to be taken with typical human treatment."

Peri thought for a second then said, "I think I know someone!"

* * *

The next day, Steven was at the hospital. He was currently in one of the rooms awaiting a checkup and full examination. He felt a bit nervous at this, especially with everything that has been happening to him recently…

Then, the door opened and Connie's mother, Dr. Mahesweran, entered the room.

"So what exactly can you tell me about his ailment?" she asked Lapis as the pair observed Steven lying in bed.

"Well, his entire body starts glowing pink when he gets over-emotional and it makes him way stronger and faster, but it's also making him seriously hurt and exhaust himself. I kinda think he's trying to stop whatever's happening."

"Hmm… This is going to be a fair amount of guesswork, but I should at least be able to give a thorough analysis and determine what's going on inside Steven. For now just wait out in the lobby. I'll bring Steven back when I'm done, okay."

Steven looked at Lapis. The two looked at each other for a second, then Steven said, "I-It'll be fine Lapis, I'll be fine…"

"...Okay… I'll be waiting outside then." She then stepped out fo the room and proceeded to the lobby.

Steven meanwhile just waited for Dr. Mahesweran's instructions. "Alright," she said, "Let's get started, when was your last checkup?"

"Uh… checkup?"

The doctor frowned at that, "Y'know, the last time you were examined by a medical professional or a nurse."

Steven then frowned himself, "Uh… never?"

Dr. Mahesweran's eyes went wide with shock at this, "What!?"

"Yeah. I never got sick or really injured so I never went and whenever I got scraped up, Pearl was always there."

"Oh dear. This is going to be a very big learning experience then."

And the first thing that entailed was a hospital gown. Once Steven was changed, and blushing constantly from the breeze, the doctor went to work examining Steven's body. Thanks to the embarrassment he felt, along with these remaining injuries, the pink flashes came about repeatedly and caused Priyanka no end of headaches. Whether it was his heartbeat becoming wildly erratic when she tried using a stethoscope, a barrier popping out of the thin air when she tried checking his knee and even trying to get an x-ray was obnoxious when his arm briefly swelled up to several times its size before the machine could read it.

After almost an hour, the doctor only felt more confused than before. "Okay, all I can gather is that these powers seem to act reflexively. How do you feel?"

"Really… done with this," groaned the boy, now flickering like a half-dead lightbulb, "Can I just take something and go home now?"

"I'm seriously reluctant to give you any kind of medication. No one knows how that would affect your body."

"But… My dad's still out there! He got abducted last night and I need to look for him!"

As he said this, the rapid expansion started again causing Dr. Mahesweran to back away before he managed to get it under control.

"Hmmm… I think I have an idea on what you need."

"Really?"

"Yes, but it's not an area of my expertise. Before I do anything else, though, I have to ask you a few questions."

"Like what?"

"Have you made any radical changes to your lifestyle recently?"

Steven was very reluctant to talk, but eventually mentioned his bodybuilding phase and how he went from relatively fit to oversized colossus in the span of a few weeks. As stunned as Priyanka was at this information, something Connie hinted at during their day together, she shrugged the shock away and began to theorize, "Hm… As odd as your situation is, I think I can see the problem."

"What is it?"

"You acclimated your body to being in a radically different state than it is currently and now the stress of the situation with your father is causing, for lack of a better term, withdrawal symptoms to appear."

"So… How do I stop it then?"

"Well, the symptoms of any withdrawal period fade with enough time even."

"But I need to save Dad now! I can't just wait forever until it goes away!"

"I'm aware of that, but a quicker answer is not my specialty. There is no magic cure that can just stop all of this. My first bit of advice would be to calm down and-"

"But Dad is somewhere in the world being held hostage by a group of rogue gems and- He might be hurt or they could be- Argh!" Suddenly, with the thought of his father being tortured, he felt an intense pain and began to clutch his heart. His body began glowing even brighter than ever as the lights in the room began to flicker. His body beginning to quiver and twitch.

"Steven, you need to stop straining yourself! It's only making your condition worse!"

"I can't help it! I don't wanna become that obnoxious jerk again!"

"Look, I won't pretend I fully understand your situation because I don't. I'll never be a gem, but it's obvious this is coming down to stress and that's something everyone has!"

"Really?! That's all you've got for me?! My whole life's been one problem after another!"

Steven's body began changing again, but this time it was failing. His body was slowly bulking up, getting bigger despite the hybrid's struggling.

"Fighting killer monsters every day, having an entire empire full of gems that want me and the planet dead, the other gems all having tons of baggage to fix, and now just when everything is being ruined by Red Diamond!"

"Steven!" Priyanka called as she watched him grow up and out more, eventually fleeing the room as Steven's head began scraping the ceiling.

"I haven't even done anything this time!" he growled as his muscles bulged, smashing through the walls and all of the equipment, "Everything was finally fixed and now this?! When does it end?! I swear if I find that Diamond, I'm gonna crush her!"

Lapis was forced to grab Priyanka by the arms and fly her out of the building as a large chunk of the hospital was quickly being demolished by the walls of Steven's muscle. His lumbering form fell to the ground. He then slowly shook his head and got up and realized it. He was a giant again! He looked around. Part of him that was thinking too fast was grateful, he wasn't as big as he was last time. The rest of him was freaking out! He turned back into that… that monstrosity! His face slowly changed into a look of sadness. He looked like he was about to cry until Lapis flew in front of his face.

"Steven? Can you hear me?" she asked. Seeing the expression on his face and how it reacted to her words, she took it as a sign to continue.

"Look, as crazy as it may seem, I know what you feel right now. You feel like you have all this power and it's exciting, liberating… and addictive. You feel like you can do whatever you want no one can stop you and part of you likes it."

He was listening to every single word that she was saying, "But the other part of you? It feels guilty that you like and you try to bottle it up and then you just feel terrible. Steven, that's how I felt as Malachite. One day I just gave into that wanting for power, but I had the other gems and you to pull me out of it."

"But…" he protested, but Lapis was not done.

"I know what the other gems told you, but there's something else. Remember how power is what you make it? You have all this strength, but you need to find the right way to use it. It's fine not wanting to resort to violence, but you've seen sometimes there's no other way. You don't need to be afraid of what you can do, Steven. You need to use it the right way."

Her words reminded him of the advice that he himself would give to other gems. "Heh… it's weird," he finally said after a few seconds, "I'm really used to helping out others who need help… It's weird that now… I'm the one who needs help…"

Lapis smiled at him and then proceeded, "Okay, you're right. I'll just try to readjust…"

He then began to shapeshift again, but this time, he didn't shrink back down to normal size. When he stopped, he was around 7 feet tall and built like an olympic bodybuilder. Thankfully, he was wearing that leaf cloth from the last time he was a giant brute and was instead still in his hospital gown.

"Well, as incredibly bizarre as that was," commented Priyanka, "It looks like your issue is more or less solved. Quick question: How many more times is your body going to change like this?"

"Not sure," Steven said, "This is… still pretty new to me…"

"Hm…" the good doctor thought about it for a moment, then said, "Perhaps… if such a change happens again, you should just let it happen."

"I guess so. My life's changed a ton in the past few years already so why not?"

"Hm…" the good doctor looked at him and thought about it for a second, then she said, "Perhaps this isn't just a physical ailment. From what you were ranting about earlier, this could also be a psychological issue as well?"

"What?"

"You said it yourself, you're holding all this stress after years of life or death situations."

"Y-Yeah I guess… Steven nervously looked at her for a second as she continued.

"I recommend making a sort of support network for yourself. I want you to tell everyone you trust what you told me and Lapis today and explain how you feel. That way you'll have as many people as possible to be there for you. And if you feel it's necessary, perhaps you should look into a professional therapist or counselor but that's entirely up to you."

"Well… I don't know where to start on any professional help, but I think I can go to my friends for help. And… And I can even go to you for advice too, right?"

Priyanka smiled at him then said, "Of course, anything for my daughter's best friend."

Steven then put on a warm smile on his face as he and Lapis left while several people came to investigate the broken down rooms.

* * *

Later Steven was entering the beach house, he was a bit nervous about what would happen next but he simply made himself remember that his friends would be there in case he would dive off the deep end again. Not only would he be showing off yet another makeover, but spilling all his emotional baggage again made him think searching for that rogue Lazuli was the better option.

Within a few moments, Steven called the other Crystal Gems to see him. Some were shocked and worried about the fact that he suddenly bulked up again. Then he began to explain everything that just happened to him, leaving out no detail whatsoever. By the time he was finished, he actually felt both more and LESS anxious.  
"…And that's the whole story," he said in conclusion, "So… I… I'm gonna need someone to lean on everyone now and then, especially if things get… a bit too much for me… Please?"

"Of course, man," said Amethyst, "That's what we've been trying to do ever since you were a baby."

"I may not have been here since the beginning," agreed Bismuth, "But I'm willing to try anything if it means keeping you in good shape. You deserve it."

"Steven, if you ever doubted that we'd want to help you, I'm so sorry," said Pearl tearfully, "I've always tried being there for you and I'll keep doing it for as long as it takes." She walked up to him, undeterred by him being several heads taller than her, and wrapped her arms around him. It felt nice to Steven, it reminded him of when he was far younger. The better days, as one would call them, before things got complicated in a hurry. Eventually, the other gems began to hug him as well and in a few seconds, he was embraced in a warm, loving group hug. This made him smile warmly and think, I have the best family in the universe…

The tender moment was broken up by the warp stream going off behind everyone where Yellow Pearl entered the house.

"Am I… interrupting anything?" she said awkwardly, noticing how everyone was still clumped together.

Everyone looked at her as an awkward air lingered in the room. "I'm sorry…" she said, just as awkwardly at first, "But, my Diamond has found some information that may interest you…"

* * *

Steven was currently chatting with the other diamonds, now dressed with his normal clothes and shapeshifted back to normal size. He also had his jacket tied around his waist in case things got crazy. The news he got WAS already crazy enough though.

"What!?" Steven said, "Dad's on the MOON!?"  
"We received reports of recent, increased activity on the planet's sole satellite," Black explained, "It seemed like someone, or something is up there, doing something. What it is, we don't know…"

"There's more…" Yellow added, "We've also seen a few certain energy signatures… The same signatures of Red Diamonds transport ships…"

Steven began to glow pink, his body slowly going back to bodybuilder size.

"S-Steven!?" Pearl stuttered as she began to run over to him.

Steven silently looked at her, and decided to just let the change happen. He was bigger again, his shirtsleeves were torn up. His nails were also more claw-like. He took a deep breath and TRIED to relax, "... Thanks Pearl." He then looked at the monitors showing the Diamonds, "We need to head up there."

"If you're going," said Blue, "You'll need more support this time. Who knows how many gems will be waiting up there?"

Steven immediately looked to his original three caretakers. "You guys want to pitch in?"

"Totally!" said Amethyst, "Nobody messes with that old chump except me!"

"That man's been through more than enough," affirmed Pearl, "And I'll hardly let that megalomaniac have her way with him or any of us!"

"Like you even needed to ask," said Garnet, "And I still owe that Bluebird for getting to you in the first place."

For the first time in a while, he had stars in his eyes.  
"We will also lend some support," Yellow stated, the group turned and looked at her.

"That'd be nice," said Steven, "But don't you have stuff on Homeworld to take care of."

"The rest of us are more than capable of running things until Yellow returns," said White, "She's decided to engage Red personally."

The entire assembly was shocked, including Blue and Black. Yellow herself simply shrugged and explained her sudden interest.

"That nuisance has launched another attack on one of my colonies. As much as you disagree with our policies, Steven, I can't change anything if Red steals all the inhabitants and turns them into her mindless experiments. Once I handle her once and for all, I'll be sure to begin restructuring and repurposing my operations to be less hostile."

"Thank you," said the hybrid, genuinely pleased to see her change her ways, "But this isn't going to be easy."

"Red's forces won't be able to do anything if their stuck in their gems thanks to my powers."

"I meant changing colonies."

"Oh… Well, as troubling as it may be to some gems, you made a valid point that our current course isn't sustainable."

Steven nodded at her, "Hey, nothing in life is easy. I mean… Mom knew that. Changes take time and hard work."

"As encouraging as that is," interrupted Black, though he did give Yellow an approving look, "Your father's position is tenuous at best. We need for you to depart now before Red changes his location again."

"Right," Steven stated, "We need a plan…"

"I just so happen to have one," said Yellow, "Give yourselves a few minutes to prepare before you depart. I'm going to make sure Red has no idea you're coming."

"Very well," Garnet said, "You heard her. Gems, let's prepare for the battle at hand."


End file.
